The Locket of Dichotomy
by greycobain
Summary: Hermione must find a husband, and Severus has to find a way to rid of his flashbacks. Hermione's also blind for some reason and losing friends like flies. SS/HG
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine except Annalese. Yay for JK!!

Author's Note: Okay, first story. Give me some feedback.

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**The Locket of Dichotomy - Chap. 1**

"Now, does anyone know what Ashwinder eggs can be used in?" Came the strong baritone of the man in black.

Almost immediately a hand shot into the air. The man in black rolled his eyes over the room lazily ignoring the small palm in the air.

"Anyone at all?" He asked again.

Again, the impatient hand waved. The fingers flaring out as the delicate arm bounced up and down. The man in black glanced at the arm before dismissively saying, "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Ashwinder eggs are used in love potions. They're frozen for this and come from the Ashwinder. Which is a serpent that lives for only an hour, in which tim-" The enthusiastic voice was quickly cut off by the deeper one of the potions professor.

"Yes, thank you Miss Granger. That will do quite well enough. At least someone knows how to read," the thick voice of Severus Snape floated through the room. "Now, does anyone else know anything? Here's a simple question, one that Mr. Potter has been so kind to demonstrate for us. What does gillyweed do?"

Once again, that little hand shot into the air. And once again Severus ignored it. "No one but Miss Granger I see. Fine, maybe we should do an exercise instead. I would like for all of you to brew an Invigoration Draught by the end of class. Begin," With that Snape turned, waved a wand and the instructions for the potion appeared on the board behind him. The students after a short stunned silence immediately went to work. Going to retrieve ingredients and cauldrons from the closet in the back of the room. They knew better than to question their potions teacher, even though none of them thought the assignment fair. There was hardly time in class to finish this assignment even if they did get to work immediately. A couple of the more bold students could be heard muttering from the back of the room, but even they were careful not to be to loud.

Severus strolled to his chair, his robes swirling around him in a flurry. He sat heavily in the seat glowering over the class. Steepling his fingers he glared sullenly across the room at the mess of students gathering things. _Worthless, none of them know anything. Not a single damn thing_, Severus thought angrily. _I can't believe I'm forced to waste my time here and these children who don't care to learn anything. Not a single one of them has any true merit as a wizard. Not one. _

Severus was caught up in his own thoughts until he spied Hermione Granger from between his fingers. She was getting her cauldron set up and checking her ingredients with the ones on the board. He could see her mentally calculating everything in her head. That look in her eyes reminded him of something. That far off look that showed that she wasn't completely in the world, but somewhere of her own imaginings. She was completely in her own world, in her own genius. It was beautiful to watch her. She just had such an amazing mind, she was so brilliant.

And then it hit him. That look didn't remind him of something, but of someone. Someone he knew from a long time ago. He hadn't thought about her in so long. So very long, how could he forget her? Annalese. His Annalese.

--

"Class, I'd like for you to make a Forgetfulness potion, just a little reminder to get you all back into the swing of things. Hopefully you haven't all gotten dumb over your summer break. Begin"

"Hi, my name's Annalese. I don't think we've met before, which isn't good since we're partners for the class," a petite girl with bushy brown hair said with a smile. She held out her hand in a show of friendship only to have it stared at broodily. The tall, thin boy in front of her only looked at her. Annalese frowned a little before trying to save the situation by saying, "Sooo, tall, dark, and broody type, eh?" She smiled again.

"I'm Severus Snape. We should get the supplies so we don't fail our first assignment together. And just so you know, I didn't pick you for a partner so don't talk to me like we're friends." A much younger Severus tossed at her as he made his way to the back of the room for their cauldron. Stunned, Annalese could only stand there and stare after him with her mouth agape. A rude noise from the professor got her back to herself and she followed Severus to ger supplies. _Great, I'm working with an asshole. This is wonderful. This is going to be a fun year. It's to bad too, he was kinda cute too, _Annalese thought as she trotted to the closet. _But, what did I expect when I decided to pair up with a Slytherin? Maybe I was just hoping that the rumors about them was false. I've never had a problem with them before. But, I never did talk to anyone. Man, he's supposed to be smart too. Why are all the ones with potential gay or jerks? It isn't fair. _

"Are you just going to stand there and look like a moron or are you going to help me carry this stuff?" The snotty voice of her dark haired partner came to her ears. She frowned but grabbed some of the ingredients as she was told. This battle would have to be waged later. The assignment came before personal problems. Or maybe at the same time.

"Soo, it looks like we need to ad-" Annalese started.

"I've got it. I can do this myself," Severus said, "I don't need you."

Annalese was again taken aback. The audacity of this boy. "Well, excuse me, asshole. But, we're partners and this is a partner assignment. If you don't like it, get out. However, I don't intend to be told off by a boy who looks like he hasn't bathed in a week," Annalese said harshly. _Oh, I didn't mean that to sound so bad.._

Severus paused for only a moment in his measuring before he responded, "Just like a girl, to judge someone based on looks. Why are you all so superficial. None of you are intelligent either."

Annalese gave Severus a look that could wilt flowers, before she shot back at him, "The problem with your theory is that one, I'm not superficial, I was trying to be civil with you even though you were being a jerk, and two, just look at our class listings, I'm ahead of you, stupid."

Severus stopped and looked at her. _She's kidding, she… she was ahead of me last year in our class listings, that little bitch. I almost forgot. It made me so mad. I didn't even know her then._ Severus frowned. Maybe she deserved a little bit of respect. Just a little though. Severus gave a short nod then.

"Fine, maybe that means you won't screw up any of our potions. I can't have you botching my grades. So, just start mincing those there, okay?" Severus said with a wave of his hand.

Annalese studied him. She must have struck a cord with him. Good, he needed it. Maybe we can make this road smoother than I thought. Thank the gods. For now I'll just do my part and try not to cause him to be a dick.

Severus glanced over at the girl beside him. What a little bitch. How dare she presume to be better than him. He was a Snape after all. But, she obviously knew her stuff if her grades were better than his. Last year maybe. This year they won't be. And she was right, she did try to be civil. He was just so used to people walking all over him and treating him like crap that he was rude to everyone. But, you never know. Maybe she was trying to set him up. _But.. She looks gorgeous when she does that. She may not even realize it. And I'm not sure if anyone else does either. But, I know that look because I myself get it. She's in her own place now. Far away from rude partners and silly arguments. She's creating now. She's making her own work of art with this potion. How beautiful. _Severus shook his head. What kind of thinking is that? Just because she looks like she's thinking deeply, she may just be ditzy and stupid. How was he to know what was going on in her head. _Gods, I'm in trouble. This is going to be a hard year…_

--

A boom brought Severus back from his flashback and he glanced around quickly to assess what had happened. A concerned looking boy with buck teeth was clutching his head, obviously upset. He should have known. Neville again. That boy didn't know left from right. Quickly he got up to whisk away the mess and to issue a detention to Neville for once again screwing up.

"Mr. Longbottom, couldn't help ruining it could we?" Snape drawled in his dark tone.

"P-professor, I-I-," Neville attempted to explain. Snape just rolled his eyes and handed the boy his detention and cleaned up the potion.

"Professor"

Severus turned to find a flustered Hermione behind him. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Sir, excuse me. It wasn't Neville's fault, I accidentally added the wrong amount of one of the ingredients. Neville didn't know. It was my mistake. Please, don't take it out on him," Hermione said quickly, to quickly. She was lying, obviously. But, she was sticking out her own neck. It would be foolish of him not to take a whack at it while it was there.

"How kind of you Miss Granger, sticking up for our poor Mr. Longbottom. Aren't you the martyr today. Fine then. You may have it as you'd like," Snape took out his wand and immediately the note in Neville's hands flew into Hermione's. "You will have detention tonight, Longbottom, you're off the hook for now. Clean up the rest of the mess and I'd like both of you to write a paper on the intricacies of what could go wrong in making Amortentia and the Invigoration Draught. I want it on my desk by noon tomorrow," With that Severus strolled back to his chair to wait out the rest of the class period. Hopefully, with no more disturbances.

Thankfully, the rest of the period went by smoothly, all the students finished their potions, except for Neville and Hermione who had to take a 0 on the assignment. Hermione was well into her paper by the end of the class and Neville had at least written his name.

As the class filed out of the room, handing off vials to the professor as they went, Snape sneered at a couple of students, whose potions were entirely the wrong color and smell. _How sad, _Snape thought, _the first years are tested on this and almost all of them pass. These kids stop caring more and more as they get older._

Hermione walked out of the room in a blur of bushy hair._ Well, I suppose there is a diamond in every batch of coal._ Severus watched as the young girl met up with her two best friends. The moron twins. Weasley and Potter. If she hadn't been put together with them she may have had a chance. But, unfortunately, that stupid hat put her into Gryffindor. Those horrible self-righteous idiots. They're so headstrong and foolhardy. That poor girl never had a chance once she was sorted into that house. If she had only been put into Slytherin… But, that wouldn't have worked. She didn't have pure blood, and the people in Slytherin would have eaten her alive. Today proved how much of a Gryffindor she was. Lying to save Longbottom.

Once all of the students were out of the room, Severus closed the door and let out a long sigh. He missed her. Annalese, she seemed from so long ago. Almost as if the memories of her weren't his. Hermione was so much like her. Headstrong and brilliant. Snape shook his head, why was he thinking of her all of a sudden. And he needed to let go of this Hermione thing to. It was almost starting to freak him out how much he had been thinking of that Granger girl recently. He needed to get that out of his head. He needed a project, that's what he needed. Something to keep him occupied. But what?

With ideas swimming in his head Severus walked into his office, deciding to skip lunch that day.

"So, Hermione how bad did Snake's breath smell?"

"Did he have maggots in his teeth?"

"Are you sure you aren't cursed?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. The first years had heard some of the worst rumors about Snape. Although, some of them were true. "Oh hush, you guys. He's just a professor. He's just really mean and is always kinda greasy," Hermione shrugged and chewed on her apple slice. She wasn't bound to tell them what else she thought of Snape. Like when he was explaining things sometimes, when he really got into it; he looked more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen. He was like an old book that no one likes because the story is boring and it smells like dust. But, to those few people who understood what the author was trying to say, to the people who knew how to interpret the symbolism and the majesty of how the words were crafted; to those people, it's the most amazing book ever written. It was just too bad that this particular book did not have a very pleasant cover.

"She's just trying not to scare you. Snape is really the scariest person alive. His teeth are yellow and crooked and his breath smells worse than dragon farts. His hair is so greasy that water just rolls off of it. And when he talks I've even seen fire come out of his mouth a couple times," Ron threw in, in his most menacing tone. The eyes of the first years who were sitting at the table with them grew wider and they started whispering to each other behind their hands.

Hermione lightly smacked Ron on the arm, "Don't lie to them!" She whispered fiercely.

"Who said I was lying?" Ron threw back.

Hermione rolled her eyes. _Stupid boy, stupid, stupid boy._. Hermione glanced up at the staff table. Severus Snape was absent from the row of professors and this concerned her. It concerned her more than she was willing to admit. _Well, I'll see him later today anyway, yay for detentions!_

And with that, Hermione got back to her lunch and back to her friends.

8:00 finally rolled around and it found Hermione frowning at the door to the potions room. Standing in the dungeon, Hermione felt a chill run through her. _A detention with Snape in the dungeons. This couldn't get much more awful,_ Hermione sighed. Raising a small fist tentatively, Hermione knocked lightly on the door of the classroom.

"Enter!" Came the stern reply. Hermione sighed heavily before she pushed open the door and walked into the waiting gaze of Professor Snape.

"At least you're on time. I need your help with some cleaning and a potion I am working on. Come here and help me organize these herbs alphabetically," Severus said, cutting to the chase.

Hermione nodded and set her book bag on the floor next to his desk. She looked down at the work table and saw that he had been sorting various ingredients for potions. Most had already been organized, but there was a small pile to the right of unknown samples.

Snape nodded at her and went to work at a separate table mincing some dried green leaves. He had a cauldron set up with a clear liquid in it that looked like ordinary water. Hermione was curious and wanted to ask what it was, but she thought that it should wait until she had been there a while. So, she began to sort the herbs on the table. She, however, finished this in a grand total of five minutes and had no idea what to do. Snape seemed intent on what he was doing and she didn't want to just interrupt him, lest she be scolded.

Hermione rounded the table and peered cautiously into the cauldron of clear fluid. She glanced at Snape, he was still to busy to notice her. So, she bent down and took a small whiff of the potion to possibly get an idea of what was inside. Instead of a scent, Hermione just got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Blinking she looked at the Professor with a confused look as he glanced up to meet her eyes. The cold expression in them went from confusion to anger to concern all in a matter of seconds. Hermione furrowed her brows at Snape, confused, before she noticed that her eyesight was darkening at the edges. She knew that she should be panicking, but all she could do was stare at Severus and frown. She saw him move towards her in slow motion before she felt herself falling. Snape was gone from her vision as the ceiling came into view, with a sickening crack the ceiling was gone from her. And she was unconscious.

_Oh, fuck shit! _Severus thought._ She's killed herself, I've killed her. Oh no, that stupid little girl, she knows better than to inhale a potion she is unaware of. Gods, she's dead, she's dead and I've killed her!_

Severus reached out to grab Hermione just as she started to pitch backwards. But he wasn't fast enough. With a resounding crack her bushy head hit the concrete floor. He could only look at her, stunned. _What if she really is…_ Severus bent down slowly to check on Hermione. She was unconscious and breathing raggedly. Removing his wand from within his robes, Severus did a simple analysis spell on her. She had cracked open the back of her skull and was bleeding profusely by now. Aside from that, the only other problem was the effect that the vapors from the potion were having on her. He had no idea that someone could have that violent of a reaction to it. He knew that the vapors affected different people in different ways. But to him, the vapors only smelled unpleasant. Hermione had been knocked unconscious and was having difficulty breathing.

Severus frowned, he had to staunch the bleeding. Taking her to Pomfrey was his best bet. But, what would happen if Albus found out that he had been so careless with one of the Golden Trio. Hermione's safety came first, but he didn't want to lose his license because some silly girl didn't have any common sense. As he sat there, staring at the young life before him, he felt his heart surge in pain. No, he would have to take her to Pomfrey. He couldn't risk her losing her life.

Casting a spell on Hermione to help slow the bleeding in her head, he scooped the small girl into his arms and all but ran to the Hospital Wing. The alarm went off as soon as he entered the school ward. Poppy Pomfrey came bustling from her office to see what the problem was. When she saw Severus Snape carrying the body of Hermion Granger, her heart skipped a beat.

Ushering Severus to carry the girl to one of the beds, she immediately started to ask questions.

"What's happened to her? Has she been in a fight? Did a Deatheater do this? Why isn't she responding? Is she under a spell, or maybe a potion? Severus, what did you do to her?" Poppy asked as she quickly did some tests on Hermione to gauge just what was the matter.

Severus recoiled. _She thinks I did something to the girl. She thinks I hurt her. Well, I suppose I deserve it, I am a monster after all._ Severus sighed. "Poppy, she inhaled some of the fumes from a potion I was brewing, she passed out and fell onto the floor. She cut her head open and that is why she's bleeding. I did not do a thing to her intentionally, you know I would never purposefully hurt a student. Especially, one as bright as Miss Granger," Severus explained in a calm voice.

Poppy looked at him suspiciously for a moment before deciding that she would trust him. Until Hermione woke up to tell her side of the story. For the time being, Hermione was stable and her breathing was normal. The gash on her head had mended nicely and now all they had to do was wait for her to regain consciousness. Staring at her laying so still on the hospital bed gave Severus a sick feeling in his gut. He could remember standing at the foot of the bed of another young girl who had lain just a still as Hermione did now.

--

"What happened to her?" A second year Hufflepuff was asking of another of his housemates.

The young girl shrugged her shoulders. "Someone told me that James Potter was about to cast a hex on Severus Snape while his back was turned. And just as he cast it, that Annalese girl stepped in front of it. And she got knocked out. It just shows how much crap Severus is, he didn't even turn around and see if she was alright, after she had saved him from being hexed from behind!" The girl exclaimed to the wide eyed boy with her.

Severus had been trying to eavesdrop without being noticed as soon as he had heard James Potters' name. He nearly tripped on a stone that wasn't completely level with the rest of the floor when he heard that Annalese had taken a hex for him. And he hadn't even known! He remembered when it had happened. He could hear James and Sirius behind him, but he had tried to ignore them as he kept on his way. He heard Sirius yell something about not turning his back to them and he heard James utter the hex. He flinched in anticipation, but the hex never hit him. Chalking it up to poor aim, Severus took off at a run and didn't stop even when he heard shouting. He had ignored what they were saying, assuming it was a joke at his expense and had just kept going. He didn't find out until later, that the hex hadn't missed, but had just hit someone else.

_She.. She took a spell for me. A spell that was intended to hurt me. And she knew that. But she still.. Why would she do that? Why would anyone do that? For me no less.._ Severus made up his mind to skip lunch and go to the Hospital Wing to check on her. It was the least he could do for her. Even though he didn't really need her help or her pity..

When his class had finally ended he walked against the tide of students going to get their midday meal and instead walked towards the Hospital Wing. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that no one was in the hallway and walked into the wing quietly. Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to be here at the moment, which was good. He'd rather not have someone asking what he was doing. Looking around him he realized that there weren't any other patients in the ward either. Only a single bed had a curtain pulled around it. Taking a big breath Severus walked slowly to the end of the ward and to the occupied bed.

"Annalese?" He asked questioningly. "Are you there?"

Silence greeted him. _She must be sleeping or something. Maybe this is a bad idea.. No, I said I'd come see her. And I will do just that._ More resolved, Severus peeked his head around the curtain to see the sleeping form of his potions partner lying quite still on the bed. Taking another deep breath Severus pushed past the curtain. He stood at the foot of the bed and looked at the prone form of the girl who rescued him from extra pain. He looked at the floor and smiled a little. Pleased to know that someone would stick out their neck to save him.

Severus went to sit on the bed, careful not to touch the girl. He looked at her face, so peaceful and angelic in slumber. He caught himself smiling again. Coughing gently he cleared that from his face. He looked at Annalese more closely. He bushy brown hair framed her face in a messy display. Severus found that the slight rise and fall of her chest was comforting. Noticing that she had a bruise on her cheek, he frowned._ Poppy should have fixed that.._

Severus leant forward to examine the bruise more closely. It looked like it was healing, the edges had turned yellow and green. But, the middle was still a sickly purple. _You poor thing.. You didn't have to do that you know?_ Feeling a strange sense of gratitude, Severus bent closer to the still sleeping girl. Her skin smelled spicy, like pumpkin pie. It was a wonderful smell. One of Severus's favorites, actually. Overcome with the smell of her skin and the gratitude he felt, Severus couldn't help himself. He whispered into the ear next to his mouth, "Thank you". And with that he kissed her cheek gently. He smiled, enjoying the warmth and smell of her skin. He felt the pull of muscles under his nose and heard a soft voice say, "You're welcome, Severus."

Severus shot up and looked down at the girl. She was smiling gently and was snuggling down farther into her pillow. She was still asleep. She thought she was dreaming, dreaming of him. And she wasn't repulsed. She was actually smiling. Feeling a gush of self esteem, Severus grinned and knelt beside Annalese's face. He looked at her on eye level and watched her face carefully. The small smile on her lips hadn't gone away. Encouraged, Severus leaned towards her face slowly. He paused when her breathing hitched, but when her eyes didn't open and her breathing returned to normal he sighed in relief. He looked at her lips, parted slightly, and couldn't believe how attractive he thought they were. She had the perfect Cupid's bow. Not able to stop himself, Severus met her mouth with his own and kissed her softly. Enjoying the feel of her mouth on his Severus couldn't tear himself away. And after a moment, the kiss was returned. At first, he could only enjoy how it felt, but then he realized that he wasn't the only one participating anymore. Quickly, he threw himself back and looked at Annalese. Her soft brown eyes were open and looking at him.

Severus could only stare at her in horror. _Oh no,_ he thought,_ she's going to yell for someone and I'm going to be in trouble for molesting her. Oh no, oh no, why couldn't I have just controlled myself. Why did I let my stupid emotions get the better of me?_ Severus was to caught up in his own thoughts to notice that Annalese was smiling at him. She knew that he was freaking out, and frankly, she enjoyed seeing him squirm for once. The past few weeks in potions hadn't gone by perfectly. True, he was the most brilliant person she think she'd ever met. But, he was a pain to deal with. And yet, she couldn't help that she had grown more and more attracted to him the more she worked with him. She didn't just find him physically attractive, and she did find him that. No matter what anyone else said. But, she was attracted to his intelligence. And when she felt him kissing her, she couldn't help but return it.

"Are you alright?" She asked him in almost a whisper. She had been unconscious the past few days and her throat was sore.

Severus seemed shocked by the question. He obviously hadn't expected her to inquire about his welfare. "I-I.. um... fine. I'm fine," he said lamely.

Annalese nodded. "Good. I was scared for you when I saw that idiot James point his wand at you."

"You… You were scared? For me? …Why?" Severus asked, not able to keep his curiosity in check.

"Because, I didn't want you to get hurt. It isn't fair that they tease you. I've already seen you go to the hospital once because of stupid Sirius. I didn't want it to happen again. Though, I suppose I didn't think it through. Considering that I ended up here instead. But, it was a fair trade, I think," Annalese said with a blush.

_A fair trade, her health so that I wouldn't be hurt.. Does she really like me? Or is this some trick? _Severus was again caught in his thoughts. Why would a smart, pretty girl like this, want to help him? "I'm used to getting hurt. I don't need you to protect me," Severus said in a voice that was more harsh than he had intended it to be.

The look of hurt on Annalese's face made his heart pang. The girl was in the hospital for him and that was all he could say? "…but, t-thank you," he said lamely.

Annalese nodded. "Would you like to sit on the bed, or in that chair? If you hadn't noticed, you're still on the floor."

Severus looked around. True enough, he was still on the floor. Gathering as much of his pride as he could, he stood and went to sit in the chair beside the bed. After a moment of silence, Severus finally asked, "What happened to your cheek?"

Annalese reached a hand up and touched the side of her face. Thinking back to a few days ago, Annalese widened her eyes. "I-I think that Sirius hit me…"

"With another hex?!" Severus asked astonished.

"N-no. After I interfered with James's hex, I think Sirius came up and backhanded me.." Annalese said still a little uncertain.

Severus could only stare at her blankly. _Sirius had hit her? That fucking bastard had hit her, because she had gotten in the way of their fun. So, not only had she been hexed for him.. But she had taken a punch for him. _"That asshole, how dare he? Hitting a woman, how much lower can he sink?" Severus said outraged.

Annalese interrupted him before he could continue with his tirade. "It isn't a big deal. It's not like I haven't been hit before. Just let it go, okay?"

Severus stared at her. _Just let it go? Was she daft? And why had she been hit before?_

Annalese smiled. "I like it when you're being civil to me. You're nice to talk to." She blushed a little bit.

Severus was immediately on guard. He sat back in his chair and scowled at her. "Well, I should get back to lunch. I just wanted to see if you had hurt yourself being foolish." Severus stood and with a final glance at the young girl before him, and walked quickly out of the curtains and out of the ward. Leaving Annalese feeling saddened and foolish. She should have known better than to have said something like that. Now, she had frightened off Severus.

"Damn.." Annalese muttered aloud. She settled back into bed with a huff and waited for Madam Pomfrey to return to the ward.

_What game was she playing at? Stupid bushy-headed girl. Making fun of me like that. And I was trying to be nice. And she tries to humiliate me. That bitch. _Severus frowned as he stormed down the hall. Fists clenched , thinking angrily. He didn't even notice the group of boys coming towards him until they were almost on top of him.


	2. Chapter 2

-1Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Author's Notes, Wahoo! And we're underway. Ooo, potions, and Sirius is a meany, bad, bad Sirius.

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**Chap. 2**

Severus Snape frowned down at the young girl laying on the bed. She looked so much like Annalese, it was almost scary. Again he was taken in by a mouth, a mouth so like the one that had gotten him into trouble so many years ago. Hermione's lips were parted just slightly and her slow even breathing signaled that she was still asleep. But, this time Severus wouldn't kiss that sleeping mouth. No, now he was a teacher and now Poppy Pomfrey was in the room.

"She will be alright, she just needs to sleep this off I believe. I've no idea what potion you were brewing, but it was very reckless of you to allow something like this to happen to her. You are her teacher, you should have been paying attention to her. You're the adult, Severus, you should have been in charge." Poppy said with a frown on her face.

Severus stared coldly at the mediwitch. "Yes, Poppy, I am well aware. But, thank you for your ever present concern. Now, if you're positive that Miss Granger will be alright, I will go inform Albus of what happened." And with that Severus walked briskly from the ward, robes billowing around him.

Poppy sighed heavily and checked once more on Hermione. "That man is so proud, even when you're ill because of his own folly, he can't show any concern for you." Poppy rubbed the back of her neck and walked slowly back into her office.

Severus Snape walked quickly through the corridors of Hogwarts on his way to the Headmaster's office. _I should have showed more concern for her. It was my fault that this happened. But, instead all I could do was say something sarcastic and storm out. I'm a fool, a bloody fool. _Severus continued to berate himself in his head the rest of the way to the Headmaster's office.

When he reached the gargoyle he uttered the password and walked to the steps after the gargoyle had jumped aside. He ascended the steps dispassionately and knocked on the door before him. "Come in" came the cheerful voice. Severus pushed open the door and walked into the presence of Albus Dumbledore.

"Sit, Severus, do please sit." Albus said cheerfully. Severus sat down in the proffered chair heavily and looked at Albus sullenly.

Deciding to cut to the chase, Severus said calmly, "Miss Granger is in the Hospital Wing with Poppy. She inhaled a potion I was working on and the fumes had the unexpected effect of knocking her unconscious. She then hit her head on the concrete floor, breaking open the back of her head. She is sleeping now, and Poppy says that she will be fine with some sleep."

Albus sat back in his chair and looked at the now silent Potions professor. "I see, Severus. And how is it that Miss Granger came to inhale these fumes?"

"She was serving a detention with me. I had her organize some ingredients, I wasn't aware that she had finished the job so quickly. So, I didn't notice when she skirted the table and breathed in the potion. I also wasn't aware that her reaction to it would have been so violent or would not have put her in such close proximity to it." Severus explained with a note of regret in his voice.

This regret wasn't lost on Albus, who could tell that the man was truly sorry for what had happened to Hermione. Not many would have noticed the change in his tone, no one except for Albus would have noticed actually. "Yes, Severus. I know that you wouldn't intentionally put a student in harm's way. And I thank you for informing me of Miss Granger's condition. You may return to your potion now, in the future though. I would appreciate it if you would be more careful with the lives of our students." Albus said with a slight twinkle in his eye.

Severus nodded curtly and rose to leave. Before he walked out the door he turned to Albus and said quietly, "I really am sorry, Albus. I didn't mean for her to get hurt…" And with that, Severus walked out the door and back to his classroom.

A day and a half later, Hermione Granger woke. Blinking sleepily, she looked around the room. It seemed fairly empty, except for the chair next to her bed. There was someone sitting there looking very upset. The lights were dimmed in the Hospital Wing so she guessed it must be later in the evening. She didn't hear Poppy bustling about, so she guessed she must be either in her office or out for the moment. Hermione turned her attention to the concerned person next to her. She guessed it was Harry or Ron. But, when her eyes finally adjusted to the dimness of the room, she was surprised to see her Potions professor sitting next to her bed.

"Professor?" She asked quietly.

The man sitting in the chair jerked as he was torn from his own thoughts. "Ah, Miss Granger, it is good to see that you are awake." He said quickly. "I will inform Madam Pomfrey."

"Professor, wait," Hermione started as he rose to leave. "Wait, what happened?"

Snape sighed quietly. _She was bound to ask. It was just my luck that I happened to be here. Why the hell did I come here anyway? _Severus thought briefly, before the other voice in his head responded, _because you were concerned for her._ Shaking his head slightly, Severus turned back to the girl before him. "You inhaled the fumes from the potion I was brewing and it knocked you out. You then fell and hit your head on the concrete floor."

Hermione nodded slowly, she vaguely remembered that happening. "How did I get here?"

_"_I-I carried you here after you fell," Severus said slowly. "I didn't have the means to take care of you myself, and I knew that Pomfrey would."

Hermione looked at the man in black in front of her. He carried her, and he would have taken care of her himself if he had the ability…Maybe this man wasn't the greasy bat of the dungeon that everyone believed him to be. "Thank you, sir." Hermione paused before asking cautiously, "Sir, what was the potion you were brewing? And why did it have that affect on me?"

_Damn, I knew she'd ask. Stupid curious Gryffindor. _"I can't tell you what the potion itself was. But, your reaction to it was unexpected. To most it just smells unpleasant. I apologize for putting you in harm's way Miss Granger. But you should know better than to do something like that. In the future you will remember that, will you not?" Severus asked almost coldly.

Hermione blushed, ashamed of herself. Of course she knew better, but her curiosity clouded her common sense on occasion. She nodded her head, unable to make eye contact with the stern man in front of her.

"Very good then," he said curtly. And with that, he walked quickly from the ward and back to his room, his billowing, but without that extra something that made it imposing. Hermione could feel tears of anger stinging her cheeks. _How could I have been so stupid? Because I was such an idiot I could have killed myself. And now Snape thinks I'm a fool. Dammit! Just as he seemed to respecting me a little. Now he thinks I'm just a foolish girl. I'm an idiot._ Hermione continued to abuse herself mentally until Poppy Pomfrey came hurrying into the room with Harry and Ron in tow.

"Miss Granger, Professor Snape has just informed me you woke. How are you feeling?" The mediwitch asked before doing some quick checks of the girl.

"I'm feeling fine, thank you. I'm just upset that I've been missing classes." Hermione answered perkily.

"Oh, don't worry about her now, she's fine if she's worried about missing class." Ron teased her.

Harry and Hermione laughed as Madam Pomfrey frowned at the two boys. "You two can wait while I check on her." She shooed the two past the curtain and pulled it closed with a glare at the young men who were still chuckling.

With the curtain closed, Poppy turned back to Hermione. "Are you sure you're alright, dear? If Snape put you into any danger, just let me know. I will hex him so hard his grandchildren will be in pain." Poppy assured her. Hermione smiled.

"No, ma'am. It was my own fault. I shouldn't have smelled that potion. Professor Snape had nothing to do with it. He only tried to help me after I fell."

"Alright then, if you're sure. You seem fine, but I'd like you to stay here another day, just to be sure that you're okay. Is that alright with you?" Poppy asked with a smile.

Hermione sighed. "If you think it's best, I suppose I can't argue."

"Good girl, now I think I should let your friends in here before they decide to rip the curtain down. They were very adamant that I let them see you. But not to long, you need to rest, okay?" Poppy warned. Hermione nodded as Poppy pulled back the curtain to let the two boys in. She shook a finger at them, obviously threatening them into being good. The two nodded sagely before she walked into her office. Harry was first with a question.

"Hermione, what did Snape do to you? Do you want us to go put a curse on him? We will if he's done anything to you." Harry assured her wholeheartedly.

Ron chimed in after that, "Yeah, we'll hex the greasy git to hell and back."

Hermione shook her head. "No, no. You've got it all wrong. Snape only tried to help me. I was being stupid and took a whiff of this potion and it knocked me out. Professor Snape carried me here. So, if anything, he should be praised."

Ron and Harry could only stare at her. "Are you sure he didn't put a spell on you?" Harry asked. "Yeah, maybe an I-Don't-Think-Snape-Is-A-Greasy-Bat spell?" Ron added.

Hermione frowned. "You two are so juvenile. He isn't a bad man. He could have just left me where I was. But, he personally carried me to the Hospital Wing. So, I don't see why you to are being so mean about it." She finished crossing her arms over her chest.

Ron and Harry exchanged glances. "Okay, sorry. We didn't mean it." Said Harry. "Yeah… we didn't mean it…" Ron said looking at the ceiling.

At this point, Madam Pomfrey pocked her head out of the door and raised a brow at the boys. Signaling that they needed to wrap it up. Ron sighed. "Well, looks like we're being shooed out." Harry said sadly.

"We're glad you're okay," Ron said as he bent to kiss her cheek.

"Yeah, classes have been a mess without the Brain in them." Harry said with a grin. Then, he too bent to kiss her cheek.

Hermione smiled at her friends, "I'll be back tomorrow, promise. Thanks you two for coming to see me."

"No problem," Ron said over his shoulder. Harry just waved as they exited the doors to the Hospital Wing.

Hermione sighed. She loved her friends, but they were a handful sometimes. _I miss Snape…_ Her brain said to her as she settled herself down into the covers. She frowned. _That was weird. Why did I think that? To think, missing Snape… Hehe, how ridiculous. _But even though she tried to convince herself in her mind that she was being silly. Her heart couldn't deny, though, that she had been thrilled when she saw him sitting next to her when she woke up. _What is wrong with me? These thoughts are going to get me into trouble soon, I just know it. _Hermione sighed again and snuggled into her pillow. _I'll just have to let things play themselves out. Maybe I just have a silly schoolgirl crush. Yeah, that's it. A simple crush or something. They aren't uncommon, and you can even get them for people you don't like that much. Okay, yeah. That's my excuse._ Hermione closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep with that comforting thought in mind.

Severus lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He had no idea why, he just couldn't for some reason. His brain was running wild with so many random thoughts. Concerning his current potion, Hermione, Annalese, his time in school, just so many things. He was considering getting up and going to take something to help him sleep when he was struck with another memory. Another memory of Annalese and those bastards he went to school with.

--

Severus was walking down the hall, struggling to carry the books he had just gotten from the library when he heard laughing down the hall. He paused a moment to readjust his books and then continued on more slowly. He poked his head around a corner in time to see Sirius Black pushing a young girl into a wall.

"You're too good for me, eh?" He said as he grabbed her wrists. "Is that what the problem is?"

The girl struggled under his hold, not saying anything. Sirius grinned at her vain attempts to break free of him.

"Come on sweetheart. I know you like Snivellus, don't deny it. But, wouldn't you be better suited with me? I mean, I'm not a disgusting greasy bat, I'm what you could call a real man." Sirius bent to kiss the girl and when she jerked her head to the side, he pulled her towards him. "Come on baby, don't be like that." He grinned.

Severus could only stare in shock. He knew that Black was an asshole, but he never thought that he would stoop to molesting girls.

Sirius bent to kiss the girl once more and when she bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed, Sirius threw her into the wall. Wiping his hand on his mouth he looked at the girl on the floor with utter disgust, "You fucking bitch, how dare you?"

The girl was slumped against a wall and Severus was afraid that Black had killed her. When he heard her laugh he was startled. _What the hell was wrong with her? This was no time to laugh._

"Not so pretty are we now, Sirius?" The voice of the girl drifted to Severus and he was appalled to realize that it was none other than his potions partner Annalese. _Oh fuck shit_, Severus thought. _I can't just let him attack her. And did he say that she like me?_

Severus shook his head. About to utter a spell when he was cut off by Sirius smacking the girl in the face.

"You aren't much to look at yourself, you little whore," Sirius said, "You'll regret that, I promise you, you'll regret that." Sirius had his wand drawn and was about to say a spell, probably a very nasty one, when a loud 'Expelliarmus!' was disarmed him.

Sirius whirled around to see a very irate Severus Snape glaring at him. Sirius laughed at the boy standing so menacingly in front of him. "Oh, did little Snivellus grow a backbone?" He laughed again.

"Get the hell away from her, Black!" Severus all but screamed at the mocking Sirius in front of him.

"Or what you little bastard? Are you gonna beat me up? I'm so scared. What the hell do you care anyway? Is it because I was messing with your stupid girlfriend here?" Sirius kicked Annalese in the leg as he said this. The girl fell onto her side and looked up at Severus pleadingly.

"Black, I'm warning you, get your wand and get the hell out." Severus said, his voice becoming more and more resolved with each word.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "What the fuck ever. I'm bored of this. Take care of your stupid girlfriend. Her tits are to small for me anyway." He 'Accioed' his wand before sauntering off down the hall.

Severus stared after him in shock. How unlike Black to walk away without a fight. Severus turned his attention to the crumpled girl on the floor. "Annalese, hey, are you okay?" He asked her putting his wand into his robes.

Annalese blinked a couple of times, trying to focus her vision. "Yeah sure, I think I'm alright." She said in a dazed voice. She reached up and touched the back of her head, she brought her hand back down and noticed that it was covered in blood. "Maybe not…"

Severus began to panic. He hated the sight of blood, he hated it more on Annalese. "We have to get you to the hospital wing." He said quickly.

Annalese waved a hand at him. "No, no. I'm fine. Head wounds bleed a lot. Don't be concerned. We just have to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding."

Severus could only look at her. "Are you kidding me?! There is a geyser of blood coming out of the back of your head and you don't want to go see someone about it?"

"It isn't a geyser, you're overreacting. I'm not even bleeding that badly. See?" She showed him her other hand, there was hardly any blood on it. "I'm fine, like I told you. Though I'm afraid I probably don't look very good at the moment." She smiled at him.

_You still look amazing_, Severus thought. "That has nothing to do with anything. Just like a woman to care about her looks." Severus said without real conviction.

Annalese noticed the half-hearted way he said it and rolled her eyes. She coughed slightly and ran a hand through her hair. "Thank you for running him off, who knows what would have happened if you hadn't shown up." She said quietly.

Taken aback by the thanks, Severus could only nod lamely. "Wh-what did Black mean when he said that you l-liked Snivellus?" Severus asked looking at the floor in front of him.

Annalese glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She frowned before saying, "He was mad because I wasn't accepting his advances towards me. I think the fact that he hit me the other day helped me in my decision on that one. But, the other reason that I told him was because I already like someone. He just jumped to the conclusion that it was you." She said to her hands.

"Oh." Severus said quietly. "So it wasn't me then, he just didn't know…"

Annalese smiled, "I didn't say that. The guy may be an asshole, but it turns out that he isn't completely stupid. His conclusion was right. And I think that's why he decided to beat me up." Annalese said while watching Severus out of the corner of her eye.

_She likes me? She likes me? I don't… why? How? She really likes me…_ Severus stood, "Well, you should put an end to that crush. In no way would I ever be attracted to you, or to anyone for that matter. I only helped you because I hate Black so much. So, take yourself to the Hospital Wing, have Madam Pomfrey look at your head. I have studying to do. Bye." He said before grabbing his bag and walking off quickly.

Once he rounded a corner he leaned his head against the wall. _Why did he just do that? She says she likes you and you just run away. Coward. Stupid coward. She's going to hate you now. But, maybe that's for the best. I'm not sure I'd be able to let her in anyway. She wouldn't like me if she got to know me anyway. _Severus sighed and was about to walk away when he heard soft sobs coming from around the corner. She was crying. Annalese was crying because he'd been such a prick to her. Severus closed his eyes and walked down the hall to his common room and away from the crying Annalese.

--

_I was a fool_, Severus thought._ A damned fool. I should have accepted her then and there. We would have had more time together. Instead my stupid cowardice kept me away from her. She was the only one who truly cared for me. And I was so cruel to her._ Severus rolled over onto his side. _I'm sorry Annalese, I've turned into an even worse man than I was, I'm a horrible failure._ With that thought and a few silent tears running across his face, Severus closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning found Hermione being excused from the Hospital Wing by Madam Pomfrey who cautioned her to be more careful. With Hermione's reassurance that she would in truth, be more careful Poppy Pomfrey ushered her out of the ward and into the arms of her expectant friends.

"Hey Hermione, you feeling okay this morning?" Ron asked quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'm starving though." Hermione said with a smile.

Harry nodded, "So am I, let's go quick, or all the food will be gone."

The three laughed as they walked down the hall arms linked with Hermione in the middle. They entered the Great Hall for breakfast and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Almost before sitting down, Hermione started grabbing things for her plate.

"Woah, woah, calm down there, Slick. There's plenty, you'll make yourself sick eating that fast." One of the Gryffindor boys chimed in. Hermione merely rolled her eyes at him and continued to stuff herself.

"Hermione, he may be right. Slow down just a little. We'd like to talk to you in between bites, if that's alright?" Ginny Weasley said with a concerned look.

Hermione pursed her lips but slowed her pace in order to answer questions. They were the standard question, "Are you okay?" "What happened?" and so forth.

One of the more unexpected question came from a third year boy whom Hermione had tutored. He asked her, "Did Snape do it on purpose? Was he trying to hurt Harry by hurting you?"

Hermione choked on her food a little as the question was posed. She looked at the boy with a raised brow. "Of course not. That's completely preposterous. The Professor wouldn't do something like that. Besides, we're all on the same side, why would he want to hurt Harry?"

The boy looked down at his food, obviously unable to respond to that question. Hermione looked around the table. "I'm not so hungry anymore. I'm going to go take down some notes on the chapters I missed while I was gone. I'll catch up with you two later." She said to Harry and Ron.

Ron got up to follow her, but she held up a hand. "I'll catch up with you later, Ron. I really need to go take care of these notes first, okay?"

Ron nodded sullenly and went back to his breakfast. He muttered as he shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Harry laughed good-naturedly and at him on the back.

Hermione was shuffling in her bag for a book while she was walking. As she turned a corner, she ran into a wall. Well, no. It wasn't a wall, walls didn't wear black robes and didn't scowl at you when you hit them. Well, maybe some did. But this certainly wasn't a wall.

Hermione looked up into the eyes of her Potions professor. His characteristic scowl was set on his features and he looked at Hermione as if she were dirt on his shoe. "Miss Granger, it's nice to see that you're being more careful about what you do."

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I was trying to find a textbook in my bag. I wasn't looking where I was going." Hermione tried to explain quickly.

"I see," he began with a raised eyebrow. " It's good to see that you're out and about and ready for class today. Perhaps you can prevent another cauldron meltdown in class today. Mr. Longbottom has been lost without you I'm afraid." Snape folded his arms around his chest and looked at her levelly. "Are you feeling better?"

Surprised by the question she only looked at him. When his eyebrows went up waiting for an answer, she finally said, "Yes, sir. Thank you for asking."

"Wonderful, now if you will let me get to breakfast without trying to run me over I would appreciate it." He said in a dry way.

Hermione smiled. He had such a sarcastic humor. She found she was becoming fond of it. Even if some of it was at her expense. "Of course sir, I'm sorry again."

He nodded curtly and stepped around her to enter the Great Hall. Hermione watched him go, robes billowing in typical fashion. She smiled again. She was finding that she liked being alone with him. Even if he seemed like he wasn't being civil. She turned and continued on her way to the library. Thoughts of her studies and Professor Snape running through her mind.

Severus sat in his first hour potions class knowing the day was going to be horrible from the start. A couple a first years had already managed to botch the potion they were brewing and set themselves on fire in the process. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he sighed. A long, long day was ahead of him.

Finally that hell of a class was over. The first and second years were so hard to teach. It's as if they were just born from the womb and didn't know their lefts from their rights. A thought crossed his mind and made him snort with humor. It was like he had a whole class of Neville Longbottoms. Now the Gryffindors and Slytherins were coming in. A few of the more brave students had already entered the room and were settling themselves down in their seats.

Severus looked around and spied the Golden Trio entering the room. _Great, I'm so looking forward to this._ Waiting for the rest of the class to sit, he stood and began writing the instruction on the board for the days lesson. He wasn't in the mood to lecture today. So, he decided to let them do a potion. Hopefully, one that they wouldn't screw up.

"Alright, this is your assignment for today. Please, attempt to follow the directions. I don't feel like cleaning up after you all today." He said as he sat back down at his desk.

The class got up and began to gather their ingredients. Severus watched as they bustled about trying their best to get what they needed and follow the directions. In the middle of the class, Snape got up to inspect the potions. So far, so good. They all looked like they were where they should be. Severus smirked mentally. _Good, maybe today wouldn't be so bad afterall_. Immediately after thinking this, he cursed himself in his head._ I've jinxed it, now I just have to wait for someone to fuck up._

Fortunately, the class passed uneventfully. As the students placed their vials of potions on his desk he noticed Hermione at the end of the line. As she passed, he said to her curtly, "Miss Granger, wait a moment please."

Hermione dutifully stepped to one side and waved Harry and Ron out the door. Once the last student had gone, Snape closed the door and said to the girl in front of him, "Tonight you will serve out the rest of your detention, seeing as you were incapable of finishing it the last time, is that understood?"

Hermione nodded, looking at her feet.

"Alright then, I will see you at 8 o'clock sharp." And with that he dismissed her from his presence by turning around and opening the door with his wand.

Hermione walked out quickly and met up with Harry and Ron who were on the other side of the door.

"That greasy git! How could he make you serve that detention, last time you almost died!" Ron exclaimed angrily.

"Oh Ron, you're being melodramatic, he's right. I didn't finish it last time, and it needs to be done. You can't blame him for doing his job." Hermione said, level-headed as usual.

"I can damn well try." Ron muttered, arms crossed over his chest.

"That sucks though, Hermy, you were going to help Ron and I with that Transfiguration essay. Stupid Snape." Harry muttered.

Hermione laughed at her friends. "You guys are acting like someone spoiled your pajama party. It isn't that big of a deal. I'll do the detention like I said I would and then I can help you later. 'Kay?"

"Fine." Harry and Ron said together.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friends and put her arm around each of their shoulders. "Let's go to lunch." She said brightly.

Immediately, the boys brightened up. Like she knew they would. She smiled and the Golden Trio went to lunch.

Severus sighed heavily. His last class had just ended and he was free until the Granger girl came for her detention. Opting not to go into his office for a nap, he decided instead to just transfigure his chair into a small couch that he could lay on. Stretching himself out on the dark green material he let his mind wander. His thoughts drifted from this to that until before he realized it he had dozed off.

For the second time that week, Hermione stood outside the door to the Potions classroom, not really wanting to go in. She inhaled deeply and noticed that the damp smell of the dungeons was more pungent than normal. Of course, it was raining outside. Pursing her lips, she knocked on the door. Silence greeted her. _Odd,_ she thought. She knocked again, louder this time. Again silence. Opening the door slightly, Hermione peered into the room. No sign of the Professor. But, if she wasn't in the room by eight, she was afraid of the consequences. So, she pushed open the door and stepped lightly into the room.

Still, there was no sign of the Professor. She glanced at his desk and noticed that he wasn't in his chair. Well, it seemed that that would be very unlikely, considering the chair wasn't there. Hermione walked over to the desk and peered over the edge. The sight of her sleeping teacher took her aback. She covered her mouth, lest she squeak in shock.

She leaned forward and looked down into the face of Severus Snape. He was sleeping soundly and was obviously unaware that she was even there. She smiled in spite of herself. He almost looked peaceful while sleeping. He didn't have on that menacing scowl and he wasn't being condescending. Hermione looked down his body, stretched out on the couch. He almost looked like a cat. His position almost seemed graceful.

She watched his chest rise and fall slowly and smirked at just how human he was now. No matter how above everything he seemed, he really was just a normal person like everyone else.

Afraid that he might be angry with her for watching him sleep, she decided that waking him would be her best option.

"Professor Snape," she said quietly, "Professor Snape, wake up."

He lay still, obviously not hearing her. _Some spy you are_, Hermione thought._ He's lucky I'm not a Deatheater coming to kill him or something._ Hermione rolled her eyes. _Sir Severus Snape the Magnificent. Able to get himself killed with only one cat nap._ She tried to rouse him again, this time she shook his shoulder while saying:

"Professor, please wake up."

His eyelids fluttered and finally opened. He looked at Hermione not comprehending what he was seeing. After a moment he shot up in his seat. "Miss Granger, what on earth are you doing here?" He asked of her, anger present in his tone.

"I'm here for my detention, sir, it's past eight. You must have fallen asleep earlier." Hermione explained to him.

Snape looked at her distrustfully. "Alright Miss Granger, since you seem to be a know-it-all this evening, how about you tell me why you thought it was a good idea to smell a potion you weren't aware the origins of?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but closed it after a moment, unable to come up with an answer.

"I thought not. Now, if you will stop breathing down my neck, I will get up and find something for you to do." He said coldly.

Hermione nodded and stepped to the side, allowing the cruel man in black to rise and transfigure his couch back into a chair.

"Now, we will be working on the potion from the other day. However, I would like for you to put a charm on yourself so that you won't inhale any of the fumes." He explained.

Hermione nodded and mentally ran through the charms she could think of that would be useful. Deciding on one, she quickly cast it on herself and turned back to Snape for further instructions.

"Good choice. Now, while we work on this, I need you to be extremely careful that you don't let any of it touch you. If you thought the smell of it was bad, the liquid itself is ten times worse." He put a hand up to keep her from speaking, "Don't even ask, I can't tell you what it is. Now, this is a very tricky potion." He gestured for her to follow him to the desk containing the cauldron and his ingredients.

He glanced inside the cauldron and dropped in some leafy green plants before turning back to Hermione. "Now, I will need you to watch this, and as soon as you see white smoke start coming from those plants, I'll need you to tell me immediately. As soon as that's done I will drop in some of these," He held out his hand which contained some spongy orange circles. "Then we will need to stir the potion three times counterclockwise and once clockwise…"

As Severus continued to explain what they would do, Hermione made a mental note of everything he said. For the next 3 hours the two of them worked on the potion. They didn't notice when it was past curfew, they were to enthralled with their work. Each respecting the other and trusting them to do their part. Hermione had never been more excited in her whole life. And Snape was glad that he finally had someone competent enough to trust with his potions.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Author's Notes: Hookay. So, next chapter. I'm still really liking the story. I don't have a plot written down, I'm just running with things, so I hope it doesn't turn out to bad. Um.. Yeah. And I want no sass about Sev accepting Annalese into his life. He wasn't as hard of a person back then, I guarantee you. And for those that don't like the flashbacks, they'll be over soon.

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Chap.3

The next morning found a sleepy Hermione rubbing her eyes angrily. Who the hell was trying to wake her up so early in the morning. She looked at her bedside clock and realized that it wasn't that early at all, it was past breakfast. And the person waking her up was a concerned housemate.

"Hermione, Hermione, are you feeling alright? Come on, wake up." Said the young girl beside her.

Mumbling angrily, Hermione waved a sleepy hand and sat up. "I'm up, I'm up, what is it?"

"You missed breakfast, everyone was worried." The girls worried face looked her over to make sure that she was alright.

"I was just sleepy, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I had a late night last night." Hermione said offhand.

"Okay, if you're sure. Come on and get ready, you'll miss your first class." With that the girl bounced from the room, carrying her book bag over one shoulder.

Hermione grumbled as she slowly stood. Wobbling to the side she frowned. _I hate mornings. Or well, I hate waking up…_ She bent to retrieve her clothing from the pile she had thrown them in. Yawning loudly she stripped off her pajamas and changed into her school robes.

Looking from side to side she finally spotted her book bag and slung it over her shoulder on her way to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, Hermione yawned again. She rolled her eyes at her appearance in the reflective surface. _When do I not look like hell, really?_ She asked herself in her head.

Hermione rubbed at the bags under her eyes and tried to pat down her hair. Grabbing a large hair tie, she tried to pull the mess back. It was still a bushy disaster, but at least it wasn't in her face anymore. She cast a charm on her hair to try to calm it a bit more. Not much of an affect. She shrugged and grabbed her toothbrush to quickly scrub at her teeth.

Sighing heavily she walked out of the common room and into the halls, heading for her first class. On her way she ran into Harry and Ron, who had been waiting for her at the corner past their house room.

"Hey Mione, what's up?" Harry asked.

Hermione shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing, still sleepy and wanting breakfast."

"Too late for that. You missed it 'cause you're a sleepy head." Ron teased her. She playfully swatted his arm and he pretended to be hurt.

"And I am really not looking forward to class today, I just wanna go back to beeeeeeeed." Hermione whined. Pouting slightly.

Harry and Ron put comforting arms around her and walked with her to their first class. "Poor Mione, whatever will she do?" Harry asked.

"Oh, don't be a prat!" Hermione said fiercely.

Harry and Ron laughed as they walked and Hermione pretended to be upset. The three were as happy as friends can be as they entered their class.

That same morning found Severus sitting at the breakfast table with a scowl on his face. He had not gotten enough sleep last night because of his work with Hermione, and he was regretting it now. His head felt like it was about to be split into. For a while, he thought that he might be about to give birth to Athena. But when the mythical goddess didn't spring forth from his head he realized that he must just be not feeling well.

When Albus had greeted him this morning he nearly snarled in reply. Albus only smiled and went back to his breakfast. Severus glared at his food, as if it had been the reason why he wasn't in a good mood. Severus was muttering something about later night potion making when the Dumb Duo came in. Harry and Ron took their customary seat at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was noticeably absent from the table. Snape frowned. She must be having a bad morning too.

Severus ate quickly, eager to get to his office to get something for his headache. Albus turned back to him just as he was scarfing down a muffin.

"Severus, do calm down. You're acting like the muffin might run away if you don't eat it quickly." Albus commented with a twinkle in his eye.

"Maybe it will." Severus said without humor in his voice.

"Well, if it does, then we need to speak to the kitchen staff about their questionable ingredients." Albus chuckled lightly.

Severus only looked at the older man before returning to his breakfast with a scowl.

"Seriously Severus, you're acting like a werewolf on cocaine." The Headmaster cautioned in a more concerned tone.

"Albus," Severus began as he turned his head to the Headmaster, "I have no idea what cocaine is, and if it is some Muggle form of potion then I don't want to know about it." With that Severus stood and turned to walk out of the Great Hall.

Albus smiled as he watched his Potions professor flow out of the room, robes billowing around him. He took note of the fact that several of the students cringed and hunched down in their seats as he walked by. Chuckling softly, Albus went back to chewing his scone and turned to talk to Minerva.

Severus muttered the whole way to the dungeons. Upon reaching his room, he threw open the door and stormed in. Grabbing the potion nearest to him, he downed it in a gulp. Immediately, the pounding in his head subsided and he let out a sigh of relief.

Walking over to the cabinet against the far wall he pulled out a bottle of firewhisky. Pausing he thought for a moment, _It's only morning and I still have classes to teach… Meh, one drink won't hurt. But only one. Albus would fire me if I worked drunk. _Grinning at the thought of Albus firing him, even being truly upset with him he took a quick swig of the bottle.

He set the bottle back in the cabinet and walked towards the door to his classroom. His first class should start anytime. And he didn't want the students to come in without his imposing form to scare them.

Sighing, he sat down in his chair to wait for his students.

The end of the day by far to slow for Hermione. All she wanted to do was go to the library and read. But, of course that didn't stop almost all of her professors from giving her homework. She blew at a stray strand of hair that was tickling her nose and went back to looking at her textbook. Harry had Quidditch practice and Ron had gone to watch. Which left Hermione alone to do her work.

Grateful that she was finally alone Hermione closed her book and put it into her book bag. She stood and left the common room and walked slowly to the library. Enjoying the silence of the hall she took it in gladly. Most of the school was in their common rooms, or out on the Quidditch pitch.

Smiling as she walked she studied the tapestries as she walked by them. Some of the portraits waved to her as she passed and a couple snubbed their noses at her. Hermione hummed a Muggle tune that was popular at the time and continued on her way.

Looking at the portrait to her right she stopped. She turned and stared at the picture of the snobby blonde male. _I've never seen this once before_, she thought._ How strange, we must have gotten a new one._

Hermione studied the portrait with a critical eye. The man in the picture looked very aristocratic and very, very stuck up. His long blonde hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck. He stood with a casual arrogance, and his powder blue suit was accented with gold trim.

Frowning, she looked at the man who could only have been a Slytherin. The man frowned right back at her and looked in another direction. Refusing to meet her gaze. Rolling her eyes at the snobby man, she continued her walk to the library.

_You know, with that platinum blonde hair he almost looks like a Malfoy. But, why would Dumbledore put up a picture of a Malfoy?_ Hermione shrugged it off and decided to ignore it. She was on her way to the library, the best place in the whole school. There was no need to think about Malfoys, no need at all.

A few hours later, Hermione found herself still in the library. However, she was unable to concentrate on her work. Instead, her mind was straying as to why her head hurt so much.

_That late night with Snape is killing me. But, it was so much fun. When he's being himself and not the greasy bat of the dungeons he's such a great person. He's just so brilliant. It's almost unbelievable. Everyone takes for granted how smart he is. They don't realize how lucky they are having him teach them. _Hermione frowned at the stupidity of her classmates. They were all so lucky and they didn't even know it.

Folding her arms on the table in front of her and resting her head on them she sighed contentedly. _I wish I could go work with him again. When we worked together on that potion, he treated me almost like an equal. Which I'm not even close to. But, it was nice._

Closing her eyes, Hermione snuggled into her arms and let her mind drift. Without realizing it, her mind had drifted into sleep.

When it came time for dinner, Severus was in an even worse mood than he had been in the morning. Which was impressive. Not one, but two of his students melted their cauldrons, and a first year had allowed her potion to explode, which caused most of the students in the vicinity to be sent to the Hospital Wing.

Severus was barely able to concentrate on his food, he was so angry. Listening to Albus's cheery voice beside him Severus decided that he couldn't be here at the moment. Standing quickly he decided to walk out the staff entrance and exit the Great Hall discreetly. Albus looked over at him and raised his eyebrow in question. Snape shook his head and left the room.

Releasing the sigh he had been holding in. Severus began the walk to his room. On the way there he stopped. Everyone was at dinner, so, he should be alright if he went to the library. Turning on his heel, he began the walk to the library.

Upon entering the library, Severus was pleased to note that no one was in the room. Even the librarian had gone. Giving a small smirk he walked straight to the restricted section.

Hermione grumbled in her sleep as her eyelashes fluttered slightly. She opened her eyes slowly, not wanting to wake up. She had been sleeping so well. But, she was starting to feel a cramp in her arms and knew that she'd have to get up.

Blinking slightly to clear her vision, she noticed the absence of life in the library. She was sitting at the table in the farthest corner from the doors and she was partially obscured from view due to a stack of books. But, from the lack of page turning and quills scratching, Hermione knew she was alone.

Frowning in front of her she looked from side to side. Why was everyone gone? She knew that she wasn't the only one who had a boatload of homework to do. Not wanting to lift her head, Hermione turned her wrist to check the time. _Oh shit!_ She thought._ It's past dinner time, I already missed breakfast. Harry and Ron must be concerned._ Straightening up, she leaned back in her chair.

"I can't feel my arms…" she said out loud.

Shaking them roughly, she closed her eyes again. _I need to get back down to dinner. But, I don't really feel like moving._ Hermione sucked her lower lip into her mouth and chewed on it slightly. It was a nervous habit she had never outgrown. The inside of her mouth was covered in scars from the amount of times she had chewed on them during tests. Her parents had always threatened her that she'd get infections or cancer or something. But, she just couldn't quit. She was almost afraid to. What happened if she stopped only to find that her next nervous habit was something more destructive.

Wrinkling her nose, Hermione picked up the textbook she had been reading and rolled up the parchment she had been writing on. She was about to stand and go when a noise from a stack of books stopped her. She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows at the noise. It sounded like shuffling and someone turning pages.

Severus Snape was looking for a book. One that he hadn't been able to find for a while. And still, he couldn't find it. It was a simple text, listing some of the more arcane potions. One of these in particular interested him. It was in the restricted section because many of the potions in the book were considered 'dark'.

Rolling his eyes as he replaced yet another book onto the shelf, Severus sucked on his teeth as he thought. _I can't do this right now. I'll just go back to my rooms and ask a house elf to bring me some food. _Resigning himself to the boring evening ahead of him, Severus walked out from the in between the stacks and noticed a bushy brown head sitting at a table off to one side. _Has she been there this whole time? Why didn't I notice her when I came in?_

Severus walked to the side and looked sternly at one, Hermione Granger. He frowned disapprovingly.

"Miss Granger, you should be downstairs eating dinner. Not up her lounging about." He said smoothly.

Hermione looked at him uncertainly, before responding, "I was working on my homework, sir. I just fell asleep I think."

"You think?" Snape snorted, "It concerns me that you don't know whether or not you've fallen asleep. Someone as intelligent as you claim to be should be able to tell when they've slipped into slumber. Maybe you aren't as intelligent as everyone seems to think." Snape said, cruelly.

Hermione's anger bubbled to the surface. She still had a headache and she didn't need him being a prick to her. "With all due respect, sir. I fell asleep. And not knowing whether or not you've fallen asleep should not constitute intelligence. I never claimed to be intelligent, that's something everyone else has pinned on me."

Snape raised an eyebrow at her, she was feeling argumentative today. "Ah, Miss Granger, and the fact that you've been an insufferable know-it-all since your first day here hasn't helped much with that image, has it?" Snape glared at her coldly.

Hermione wasn't sure what to say. He was being so cruel to her. Well, more cruel than usual anyway. The only thing she could think to say in response was, "Insufferable know-it-all. Professor, really, I think we've overused that one. Maybe you'd like to start calling me Mudblood too. That seems to be one of Malfoys favorites, and I know how he is your favorite." Hermione smirked when Snape seemed shocked that she had used the word 'Mudblood'.

"30 points from Gryffindor for talking back to a professor and for being so crude about it," Snape looked at her triumphantly.

Hermione yawned, not impressed. She really had no idea why she was being so disrespectful. But, she was sick of Snape talking down to her all the time. And when she needed sleep, she got cranky and tended to snap at people. Unfortunately, Snape happened to be the one pushing her buttons at the moment.

"I'm sorry, sir. But, if you will excuse me I should get down to dinner." And with that, Hermione grabbed her things and the book she had checked out from the Restricted Section and started to walk off.

"Miss Granger, you will not turn your back on me when I am talking to you. You will turn around this minute." Snape said outraged.

Hermione turned around and frowned at her Professor. "Yes?" She asked impudently.

"Give me the book you are holding." He commanded.

"Why? It's mine, I checked it out." She said defensively.

"Do not question me, Granger, do as I say." Severus tossed back, deciding to drop the 'Miss'.

Hermione thrust the book towards him with fury written across her features. Snape snatched the book and looked at the title quickly. _This is it! This is the book I needed._ Holding the book firmly in his hand, he looked up at the defiant girl in front of him.

"Miss Granger, I will be confiscating this book from you. In your current state, I doubt you will need to be reading over dark potions." Holding the book at his side, he looked at her firmly.

She stared at him, open-mouthed. "You're kidding right?" At the smirk on his face she scowled. "You're taking my book from me? How selfish. I personally checked that out, I had to go and get special permission and you're taking it?! How dare you, what makes you think you have the right to-"

Snape cut her off by raising his hand. "Ah, ah. Let's not lose our temper, Miss Granger. I would hate to have to take more points from you and possibly give you another detention." He almost grinned at that.

_That sick motherfucking bastard. How dare he! Oh, he better not think that I'm going to let this go without a fight. _"Sir, would you please give me back my book. My current state is fine, and I would like to continue my research on the book." Hermione said, trying to use a different tactic.

Snape only looked at her, scowl still in place. "Miss Granger, I said no. Now, go down to dinner and away from my sight."

"You bastard." Hermione spat.

Snape looked at the girl shocked. _Did she really just call me that?_

"How dare you treat me like this. Just because I am a student, that doesn't make you Lord over me. I still have my rights, which you are denying me at the moment." Hermione was warming up to her topic. And her cheeks were turning pink in her fury. She was egged on by the fact that Snape seemed to be shocked by what she was saying.

"I am a human being, just as you are. No matter how you try to deny it. You know sir, I'm the only person in my house who would try to defend you. When everyone else would call you a greasy bat or a dickless rodent, I would be there trying to explain how you weren't that bad. I stuck up, FOR YOU! And now you have the audacity to treat me as if I'm the scum on the bottom of your boot. Well, I've got news for you, you're no better than anyone. You lift your head and snub your nose at all of us, because you think you're so much better. Well, Professor Snape, I have to very important words for you to hear. FUCK YOU! Yes, that's it. Fuck you." Hermione ended almost breathlessly.

The two stared at each other, both in silence. Both shocked at Hermione's outburst.

After a couple a minutes, Hermione was the first to respond, "Professor, I-I'm so sorry. I d-didn't mean it. I don't know what got into me. I-I-…"

Severus only looked at her. Unable to put his scowl back onto his face. He was only able to stare at the girl before him. _How the hell dare she? What in the world had gotten into her? You got into her you slimy git. You were an asshole to her, and now looked what happened. Hell, this is going to be a problem._

Severus opened his mouth to speak, just as the door to the library opened and Madam Pince entered looking cross. Severus frowned and stepped towards Hermione.

Hermione looked at her Potions professor distrustfully.

Snape bent to her ear and whispered to her, "We will continue this discussion while you're serving detention with me for the next week and a half. I'll see you in class tomorrow, Miss Granger." And with that, Severus stormed out of the library , robes billowing around him. And with him, went Hermione's book.

Hermione gulped, but started to cough when she found her throat was to dry. _Oh my gods, oh my gods. I'm in trouble. More than a weeks worth of detention, this is terrible. How could I have exploded like that? That was so inappropriate. Oh gods, oh gods. I'm screwed, I'm royally fucked in the ass. Like bent over with no lube, fucked in the ass._ Hermione winced at the image that brought to mind.

"What am I going to do?" She asked aloud. At the frown from Madam Pince, Hermione decided that it would be best to go back to her room. Shifting her bag from one shoulder to the other, Hermione walked out of the library staring at her shoes the whole way back to her room.

_That little bloody tramp, _Snape thought as he walked back to his rooms._ How dare she treat me like that? I am her professor! She stands up for me around her friends, yeah right. More like she's the one calling me a dickless rodent. And who the hell calls me that? _Severus stormed down the halls, sure to glare venomously at any student who happened in his path.

_That bushy-haired, know-it-all. Little brat. This is so ridiculous, how could she. I'm not even sure what to think. She deserved more than a weeks worth of detention. Much more. _Severus pushed open the doors to his rooms and threw the book onto the table. _Bitch, stupid bitch._ But, Severus just couldn't get out of his head, how completely gorgeous and mature she looked while she was tearing him down.

"God, I wanted to take her right then and there." Severus said, disgusted with himself. "She looked so angry. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked like she truly believed in what she was saying. Which isn't comforting considering the fact that she was berating me at the time." Severus sighed.

"What was I thinking? She's a student. And more than twenty years younger than myself. But, in that moment, I wanted to kiss her so badly." Severus rubbed his temples roughly. _This is going to be a long week and a half._

"Why, Severus, who could you be talking about? A student of yours, hm? An illicit affair maybe? How scandalous. I always knew you had a bit of a pedophilic streak in you." Came a silky smooth voice from across the room.

Severus whipped his head to the side at the sound of the all to familiar voice. "Lucius," he snarled, "what the fuck do you want?"

"Oh Severus, don't sound so unhappy to see me. I'm only here as a friend." Lucius grinned evilly.

"Get the hell out Lucius, I'm in no mood for this." Severus growled out.

"Severus, I was only coming to inform you that our Dark Lord had found a new way to keep an eye on things inside of the school." Lucius smirked at the surprised look on Severus's face.

"Why wasn't I informed earlier?" Severus demaded quickly.

"The Dark Lord decided that now would be the right time to tell you. He chose to trust me on this matter, not you." Lucius said smugly.

"Fine, what is it Lucius?" Severus demanded.

"Oh, I seem to have forgotten. How terrible of me. Perhaps I will need some refreshing to jog my memory." Lucius said with a dark smile.

Severus rolled his eyes and went to his liquor cabinet. Pulling out his bottle of firewhisky, he handed it over to Lucius with an empty glass.

"Ah, thank you Severus," Lucius said as he poured himself a glass full of the potent liquor. After taking a large gulp of the strong liquid, he coughed and grinned widely. "Yes, that hit the spot, how very kind of you."

"Out with it Lucius, now." Severus ground out from between his teeth.

Lucius rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes. Calm down, Severus. Now, the Dark Lord and I recently came up with a new way of spying on you all here in this blasted castle. With some assistance from Draco of course." Lucius started, sounding almost proud of his son. "Now, Draco has mentioned to me the amount of portraits that there are in the school. And how they all come and go as they please. Correct?"

At Severus's nod, he continued.

"Well, we all decided that it would be a brilliant idea if we were to hang up a portrait here and then have the portrait come and report the goings on to the Deatheaters." Lucius took another drink from his glass.

"Yes, that's brilliant Lucius, but what happens when Dumbledore realizes that there's a portrait hanging up that he didn't sign for?" Severus asked the blonde.

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Severus, really. You think that we would be so daft as to let a little thing like that get into out way? No. We had someone in the Ministry 'happen' upon it. And when they did, they noticed that it was a portrait that had been donated to Hogwarts years ago. And so, this person decided that the portrait should be brought back to its rightful home. Why, Dumbledore was thrilled to have the picture. Idiot that he is. And now, the portrait is hanging in one of the halls reporting to one us every so often. In fact, it mentioned how Potter's little Mudblood friend had been studying it earlier today. Quite handy isn't it?" Lucius asked, quite proud of himself.

Severus stared at the cruel blonde in front of him, dressed in black and holding a snake's head cane. "I see, yes, that is clever. Was that your idea Lucius?" Severus asked coldly.

Lucius grinned wickedly. "Well, I had a hand in it."

Severus nodded. "Thank you, Lucius. Now please, get the fuck out of my room. I'm tired, and I'd rather not fall asleep with you around. Who knows what a deviant like you would do to me while asleep."

Lucius laughed at that. "Maybe Severus, maybe." And with that, he turned to the fire and flooed himself out.

Severus sighed heavily. _Fuck, this day is just getting better and better._ Severus threw off his cloak and went into his bedroom. He needed to tell Dumbeldore about this, but damnit he was tired. First, he would sleep, then he would tell Dumbledore about the portrait tomorrow morning.

_I've gone from having a shitty day at work, to fighting with Hermione, to being told that Lucius Dumbfuck is hanging up portraits in the damn school. _Severus lay down on his bed face-down. _Maybe I could suffocate myself, that would probably be better than any of my other options. _Sighing heavily, he decided against it._ I'm being melodramatic. Acting like a ten year old faerie who hadn't gotten her way at her birthday party. _

Snape rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. _Everything's gotten so complicated. Back in school all I had to do was worry about being made fun of. So much simpler. Though I doubt I thought so at the time._

--

"No, no, you're doing it wrong. You're turning to slow, here let me do it." Annalese said as she grabbed the handle of the spoon Severus was stirring with.

"I am not doing it wrong, you just want to do it yourself." Severus said defensively.

"Quit whining. Just mince some more of those and we'll be fine." She said definitely.

Severus rolled his eyes and began to mince. _Whining girl_.

The rest of the class passed quickly, with the partners working well together, despite the tension that occasionally passed. When both of them had gathered their things, Annalese stood bouncing from foot to foot nervously.

"What the hell are you doing?" Severus asked, "You're acting like you've got fire ants in your pants."

Annalese smiled at her feet. "Um, Severus… I was wondering if… well…"

Severus rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Well, you know, the ball is tonight… and I know you don't have a date… and well, neither do I… so I was wondering if maybe. Maybe you'd like to go with me?" Annalese said in a rush.

Severus was floored. _She wanted to go to the ball with him? The greasy dungeon bat? The prick? The boy who had hurt her so many times this year and still. Still she wanted to go to the ball with him._

"Um…oh." Severus said lamely. Grabbing his things he walked out of the room quickly without a second glance.

"Wait, Severus. Wait!" Annalese called as she exited the classroom, close behind him.

Severus merely quickened his pace, hoping to distance himself from her.

"Severus Snape, stop this instance, you're acting like a baby." She called out from across the hall. Causing looks from several of the students nearby. Severus's face reddened in shame and he kept walking.

Annalese frowned and kept after him. She'd be damned if she'd allow him to do this. As he turned a corner, she quickened her pace and followed right after. She reached out to grab his arm in the empty hallway.

"Severus, stop, please. Can we at least talk?" Annalese begged.

Severus still hadn't turned towards her. He was looking at the ground in front of him. Wishing she would just let him be. "Let go, please." He asked her quietly.

"No, not until you tell me why you flip out every time I say something vaguely personal. I want to go to the ball with you, why can't you just accept it and say yes?" Annalese said, her temper starting to flare.

Severus was silent as he slowly turned towards the girl behind him. He looked her in the eye. Her eyes were hazel and tinted green. The most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. The dark pools of his eyes met hers and he felt a pang in his heart.

"Because I can't! Okay, why you have to be so damn persistent about fucking EVERYTHING is beyond me. I don't want to go to the ball with you, okay? Why can't you accept that?" He asked, his words sounding angry, but his tone showing the fact that he didn't mean much of it.

Annalese looked down at her feet, breaking the eye contact. "I'm sorry, Severus. I just thought that… maybe you know, maybe you liked me. And you just weren't able to show it or something." Annalese blushed in shame.

Looking at her like that, Severus couldn't help but feel bad for what he'd said. The girl really did like him, she genuinely liked him, and all he could do was reject her. But he couldn't let her in. Not into his heart. He had blocked that off years ago. Thanks to his wonderful family life. No, he wasn't about to let in some silly little girl who had a crush on him.

But even while thinking this, he heard himself saying, "Annalese I'm sorry. I-I've just had a tough time my whole life. And you're… interest has taken me aback. I'm not sure if it's genuine. Or, I wasn't. I'm sorry, I just can't…"

He was looking down at the ground and he could feel Annalese's eyes on staring a hole in his head. He glanced up at her as he opened his mouth to say something else, only to find that he was incapable of speaking. The girl who was staring at him only a moment before now had her eyes closed and her lips locked onto his.

Severus started to pull back until Annalese grabbed the back of his head and pulled him closer to her. Unable to help himself, he closed his eyes and returned the kiss.

_God, nothing has ever felt this good before. Nothing. And I never want to stop kissing her. Ever._ Annalese moaned into Severus's mouth, causing her lips to part. Severus greedily took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and thrust his tongue deep into the girls mouth. After a minute of this, the two had to split apart for air. Severus looked at Annalese, her cheeks flushed and a large smile spread across her features. Severus himself was beginning to smile.

Annalese stepped forward and hugged him fiercely. "Severus, give me a chance, please. I promise I'll be gentle." She whispered into his ear.

Severus wrapped his arms around the girls waist, and nodded slowly. "I'll try. But, you'll have to excuse me being a prick sometimes. Old habits die hard." He whispered back.

Annalese nodded happily. And kissed him on the cheek.

Severus smiled at her and said with a half-grin. "I guess this means we're going to the ball together?"

Annalese squeaked in glee and clapped her hands together. "Of course it does silly, oh, I can't wait for you to see my dress, it's sooo gorgeous."

Severus rolled his eyes, "Girls and their vanity," He said faking a cruel tone.

Annalese smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I'll just catch up to you before class, we have some stuff to discuss, 'kay?"

Severus nodded slowly. _Oh god. What have I gotten myself into?_

And with that, Annalese waved and bounced off.

--

_Well, maybe they weren't much simpler. But damnit, at least they were more fun. I wish I was as accepting as I was back then. That much I know for sure. Allowing her into my heart had been one of the best decisions I ever made. And, now Voldemort the Cocksucker had ruined my life and I'll never be able to trust anyone. God, I'm so lonely._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Yep, it's there.

Author's Notes: Sorry that took so long. Hectic days, I tell ya. Anyway, enjoy. Feedback is always welcome!

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Chap. 4

Hermione woke the next morning with another headache. What was with those these stupid headaches? Yawning loudly, she glanced at her clock. Well, at least she was in time for breakfast this morning. Last night when she had come back to the common room, Harry and Ron had been waiting. Concerned that she hadn't been to dinner, they of course asked her where she had been. She growled at them and stormed up to her room to have a fitful night of sleep.

Looking out the window to her left, Hermione breathed in the morning air. _Ugh, I want to curl up in a ball and not ever come out of bed._ Hermione stood and went to stand at the window. The weather had been getting colder as winter was fast approaching. _Well, I'm looking forward to wearing warm clothes and fuzzy scarves at least. But, I'm dreading this detention with Snape, it's going to be hell. I still can't believe my outburst the other night. I'm such an idiot._ Hermione rubbed her temples with the pads of her fingertips. _I need to shower._ She thought gladly.

Hermione stripped out of her nightclothes and turned on the warm water of the shower before her. Smiling broadly, she gladly stepped into the warm jet of water pouring down from the shower head. Enjoying the feel of the hot water, Hermione grabbed her shampoo and rubbed some of the thick fluid into her hair. It smelled like lavender, which calmed her down immediately.

Hermione spent the next twenty minutes trying to enjoy her shower to the fullest. She ran through the problems she'd been having recently and tried to work out what to do about them. She always did her best thinking in the shower. Wasn't there a famous Muggle who always did his thinking in the shower? She thought that maybe she'd read that somewhere. Something about the air being cleaner or something due to the hot water, which allowed the brain to function better? She shrugged her shoulders without realizing it. Well, whatever, that wasn't what needed to be attended to right now.

She needed to decide what she was going to about Snape. She'd been so rude to him earlier, and now there wasn't much she could do to atone for it. But, she wasn't the smartest girl of her age, wasn't she? She could think of something. Apologizing didn't seem to work. But, maybe if she just did as she was told. If she tried to be efficient, do as she was told and not cause any problems, then maybe, just maybe it would work.

Of course, it wouldn't work quickly, nothing could ever be done quickly with Snape. Except maybe a potion, but that wasn't what she meant. The man was impossible. You couldn't ever fix a wrong you've made, he just wouldn't let you. It was so stupid.

Hermione turned off the stream of water running down her body and grabbed the oversized red towel that was waiting on the counter for her. She loved towels, especially big ones. And this one was the size of a small country. Wrapping herself in it, she stepped to the bathroom mirror to take in her appearance. After first setting a spell on the mirror to clear off the steam.

Her hair was going to be hell today. But at least she had slept last night, fitfully or not. The bags under her eyes weren't as extreme as they had been. But she would have to do something about this hair. Picking a couple of charms from the list she kept in her head she cast them on her head in rapid succession. In addition, she used a smoothing mousse. Or three. Opting to not blow dry her hair because that tended to make it even more poofy, she ran a brush through it as best she could.

Grabbing her clothes from the counter she slipped into them quickly and stepped back into her room. Tossing the towel onto the floor on top of her pile of dirty clothes, she grabbed her bag and glanced at her clock. _Perfect timing, I'm starving. _With that she descended the steps of the girls dormitory only to find Harry and Ron lounging in the common room waiting for her.

"Mione!" Ron exclaimed.

"You in a better mood now? Not going to rip off our heads and devour them this morning are you?" Harry asked cautiously.

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. "No, you're safe… for now."

The two boys nodded happily before Ron asked, "So, what happened to you last night?"

Hermione gestured for them to start walking and she answered on their way to breakfast. "Well, um. I was in the library studying. Professor Snape happened upon me. He insulted me a little… and I kinda freaked out on him."

Harry frowned at her, "Freaked out like how?"

Hermione bit her upper lip and looked up towards the ceiling, "Um, freaked out like I told him he was a dickless rodent and that he could kind of fuck off."

The two boys stopped, mouths dropping open. "WHAT?!" Ron said, a little to loudly.

Hermione backtracked and tried to hush him. "Shh!" She whispered fiercely.

"Hermione, you did what?!" Harry said, trying to keep his voice down.

"I didn't mean to! He was just being so mean, and I took the book that I had checked out. He said he was confiscating it, and wouldn't give it back. And I exploded on him, and called him some names and told he shouldn't act so high and mighty all the time." Hermione tried to explain as she tugged fiercely on the Harry and Ron's arms, trying to get them to move.

"Oh no, Hermione. He didn't try to curse you or anything did he?" Ron asked concerned.

"No, of course not. He's given me detention for a week and a half though. Which isn't that bad considering what I did." Hermione said while rolling her eyes.

"Hell, 'Mione, you think he told Dumbledore or anything? You could get into serious trouble for that. Like serious, serious." Harry said, worry obvious on his face.

"Wow, thanks for the comfort, Harry, thanks so much." Hermione said sarcastically.

The Trio continued on to breakfast, discussing Hermione's lapse in judgment. At around the same time Severus was just leaving Dumbledore's office. He had been telling Albus about his visit with Lucius and what he had been told about the portrait. Albus took the information in stride. Smiling at Severus when he had finished talking.

"Go on ahead to breakfast Severus, thank you for telling me. I will be down shortly, I have some arrangements to make." The twinkle was still in his eye. _That damn twinkle_, Severus thought._ How I hate it._

Severus made his way slowly to the Great Hall.

Upon entering the room for breakfast, a couple of things caught his attention. One, the Granger girl was there. And two, the Gryffindor table was causing quite a commotion. Some of the students had gotten up and were flapping their arms like birds, while others were creeping around the table with a perturbed look on their face. While the ones sitting were saying 'Greasy bat! Greasy bat!" And some of the others were saying, "Go back to the dungeon!"

This must have just started, for the teachers were running to calm the students down. Snape could feel his anger rising as he watched this horrible display of mockery. _They're making fun of me. That little fucking brats are making fun of me._

Snape looked for Hermione in the crowd or laughing Gryffindors and saw her trying to stop many of the students who were flapping their arms. He felt his heart flutter._ She's sticking up or me…_ He could see her face getting more and more red. And after a time, he saw her raise her wand and start threatening the students, who ignored her.

"STUPEFY!" Came a thunderous voice that resounded throughout the Great Hall. Everyone stopped to stare at the person who had yelled. Hermione Granger stood in the center of attention, all eyes trained on her. Her breathing was harsh and her cheeks were flushed. Her arm pointed straight and her wand was still pointed at the person she had cast the spell on.

The boy she'd just cast her spell on fell backwards and a friend of his caught him before he hit the floor. The staff member were the first to come back to their senses. Trying to hush everyone and have them sit back down.

As Minerva neared the Gryffindor table, her eyes darkened. She grabbed Hermione by the arm and whispered fiercely in her ear, "You will go see the Headmaster, now!" And with that she released Hermione's arm and peered at her to encourage her leaving.

Hermione snorted and stormed off, wand still in hand. As she was about to leave the Great Hall she passed Severus Snape. Who was looking at her with an odd expression on his face. She glanced back at him after she had passed him, but he had turned around and was swooping down onto the Gryffindor table. Robes billowing in a fury.

Hermione sighed heavily as she relaxed her grip on her wand and placed it back into her robes. _What is getting into me lately? I just keep fucking myself over. Snapping at Snape, stupefying another student. Maybe I've gone mental. I could plead temporary insanity. Maybe…_

Hermione rounded a corner and climbed some stairs. She stopped outside the Headmaster's office and paused._ Oh hell, I don't know the password._ Just as she was about to turn and go tell Minerva, the gargoyle jumped aside to allow her entrance. Frowning slightly, Hermione entered the room and ascended the staircase to Dumbledore's office.

"Please, come in, Miss Granger." Came the cheerful voice of Albus Dumbledore.

Hermione pushed open the door and took a seat in from of the Headmaster.

"Lemon drop?" He offered.

Hermione declined politely. Feeling the Headmaster's kind eyes looking at her she said, "I cast the 'Stupefy' spell on a fifth year Gryffindor, because he refused to quit making fun of Professor Snape."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and studied her carefully. "Very well, Miss Granger, thank you for telling me." Dumbledore pondered a minute before saying. "10 points from Gryffindor, for casting a spell on another student. However, 20 points to Gryffindor, for standing up to your friends and defending a teacher. You may go back to your breakfast now, Miss Granger." He said with a twinkle.

Hermione gaped at him, open-mouthed. What had just happened? "But, sir. I attacked a student. I-um.. Well."

"You think you're punishment should be greater?" Dumbledore asked knowingly.

"Well, yes sir." Hermione said looking at her hands in her lap.

"My dear, the turmoil I see in your eyes is punishment enough. But next time, maybe allow a teacher to take care of a situation like this one." The old man said with a smile.

Hermione nodded her head and rose to leave.

While walking down the corridor back to the Great Hall, Hermione thought about her hectic week. _This is getting worse by the minute, _she thought._ But, at least I didn't get into trouble this time. And maybe Snape won't be as hard on me, considering I stuck up for him. But, why did I do that. I should have been laughing with my friends. Not getting furious. It doesn't make sense. But, for some reason, I was just so mad that they would make fun of Snape like that. He gave me detention and took my book from me, I hated him earlier, and now my stupid brain thought it would be a good idea to stupefy someone. Fuck, who knows. Maybe it is insanity._

Hermione opened the doors to the Great Hall and the entire room silenced. Looking around the room she realized that once again all eyes were on her. Gulping visibly, she walked quickly to her seat at the Gryffindor table. Most avoided her eyes there, except the boy she had stupefied. He was staring daggers at her as she past him. She could feel his eyes boring holes into the back of her head. _Hell, I didn't think about how awkward this would be. It was stupid of me to come back here. But, I'm a Gryffindor, I'm no coward. I should be able to handle this. _With that thought in her mine, Hermione raised her head.

Her eyes immediately caught those of Severus Snape. He was looking at her with a scowl on his face as usual. But, there was something else there as well. Something she couldn't decipher. Looking away from him quickly she sat down in between Harry and Ron and tried to hide her face by eating quickly.

The rest of the room went back to eating and chatting once she sat down. Thankful, that she was no longer the center of attention, Hermione let out a quick breath.

Harry and Ron both put their arms around her. Harry winked and she knew that she would have to explain herself later. But, for the moment she had their support. Gods, she had the best friends ever.

As the bell rang for the first class to start, Hermione, Ron, and Harry got their things together quickly and headed for the door. Hermione braced herself for the onslaught of questions she knew were about to follow. Not only from Harry, and Ron, but from the whole school.

Severus watched as the Granger girl walked back into the Great Hall. _Interesting,_ he thought._ Very plucky of her to come back_ At the look of discomfort on her face, he realized that she hadn't even thought about the stares she was going to get. _Silly girl._

He watched her move to her seat and met her eyes when she looked at him._ Foolish girl, _he thought with a scowl_. But, thank you.._

Her detention tonight might be more interesting than he had first thought. _I'm almost excited now._

With that thought in his head, he continued his breakfast. Stealing glances at Hermione Granger every so often.

At the sound of the bell for first class, Severus almost smirked. Those first year Gryffindors are going to have a hell of a time today. Even if they hadn't been the ones to mock him, he would make sure that they wouldn't even dream about doing it for the next 20 years. This cheerful thought was soon overshadowed by his remembrance of what the students had been doing.

_They were calling me a greasy bat. A greasy bat who needed to get back to the dungeon. Children never change. They're cruel to their peers and their superiors. _Severus caught a slight dusting of wetness at the corners of his eyes and quickly steeled himself against it._ No, Severus. You aren't Snivellus anymore. No matter who makes fun of you._

Severus entered his classroom a few steps behind one of his first year Hufflepuffs. Upon entering the room, he listened to the utter silence that followed. There had been a couple students laughing before they saw his dark form loom in the doorway. Now, they all looked at him with wide eyes and closed mouths.

_Good, _he thought._ Very good._

"Well, I'm glad to see that you've all calmed down from this morning's antics." He took a moment to sweep his eyes over the room. Paying close attention to the Gryffindors in the room.

"Open your textbooks to page 283. I want you all to start copying down word for word what it says there. After each paragraph I want you to write down your thoughts on what it says there. You will do this until the end of class. At the end of class, you will hand into me what you have completed. Let me just say this, if you're not to at least page 350 by the time you hand it in, Merlin help you." And with that, he sat down at his desk to start grading papers.

Almost immediately he could hear the sounds of quills scratching furiously. With a satisfied snort, he began slashing through incorrect sentences and paragraphs with his red inked quill.

The end of the period came by far to quickly. Severus had a stack of graded papers next to him, and a much smaller stack of ungraded papers on his other side. He had been releasing much of his tension on the poor pieces of parchment and felt better. As long as he didn't really think about how dismally everyone was doing, he felt better anyway.

After a few minutes, the first of his students started to file into class. _Only the Slytherins so far_, he noted with satisfaction. _Oh how the mighty have fallen, my dear Gryffindors._

A couple of the more bold 7th year Gryffindors finally started to come in. Their eyes nervously avoiding the Potions professor. _That's right you little fucking bastards, be afraid. Be very afraid. I almost feel bad for them, this is not going to be a fun day. Bwaha._

Severus set his face into his characteristic scowl and prepared for the trying day ahead. Taking a breath he closed the door and turned to look at the class.

He was about to give the class their assignment in his most impressive tone when he stopped. The class was staring at him in almost terror. Severus smirked mentally. _Maybe I'll just wait for a minute._

He stared at the class, letting his gaze sweep across the heads of his students. As a minute passed, he finally decided to speak. None of the students would meet his eye, not even one of them would look up from their desks. Except one.

Snape met Hermione's gaze levelly. She stared back at him, no expression on her face. He looked at her for a moment before nodding his head in her direction.

"Take out your books and turn to page 462." Severus said as he turned his back to the room and walked to the chalkboard.

Waving his wand, the instructions for the a potion appeared on the board. "Get to work, now." Severus said in his deep baritone.

Immediately, his students shot from their chairs and began gathering ingredients. Severus grinned mentally. _That's right peons, work away._

Hermione went to work as soon as she head Snape say, 'now'. She knew what potion they were making, as the rest of the class looked in their books for the name. Gathering her ingredients quickly she went back to her desk and let out a little sigh. This was not going to be a fun potion to do with Neville. She just couldn't let him do anything alone on this one.

She quickly began mincing and delegated something easy to Neville. After setting her minced leaves to the side she looked up at the direction on the board. Before looking back down at her work, she got the eye of Snape. He was looking at her with an odd expression. She flushed brightly and looked down quickly.

Nearing the end of class, Hermione noticed again that someone's eyes were on her. Looking up, she again was staring into the dark pits that were Severus Snape's eyes. He was looking at her with that same odd expression.

She shrugged it off quickly, their potion was almost done and it was almost time for class to be out. Snape had been hell today. He had marched around the room, giving the most horrid criticism. Some of the students had even botched their potions from nervousness with him standing over their shoulder.

Neville had almost screwed up their potion three times. She was their to save it each time, thankfully. But, she had been watching him like a hawk all period.

Finally, the bell rang and a couple of the students jumped at the sound. Hermione took out a vial and poured some of their potion into it. It was perfect, and she knew it. She couldn't say the same for the rest of the class. She placed her vial on Severus's desk before walking out of the classroom, waiting for Harry and Ron.

Severus sat at his desk, looking at the samples the students had brought him. Only three of them had the right color, and he wasn't sure if more than one of these was really right. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he sighed heavily. Partly, this was his fault. He was a menace today, and he knew it. He had done it on purpose. None of them could work under pressure, it seemed. None except for Hermione, her's seemed the only potion that had worked.

Snape rubbed his temples, and leaned back into his chair. _This blows_, Snape thought. _I'm not sure about this detention tonight. This might actually be terrible. I don't want her to explode on me again, though she is cute when she's angry. _Snape growled angrily._ I have to stop thinking of her that way. I feel like a pedophile._

_I just hope that I'm not going to explode on her. _

--

Severus tightened the tie on his suit and tried to calm his nerves. _I'm a Snape, I shouldn't be acting like this. _Severus took a deep ragged breath. _I should go downstairs now… She'll be waiting if I don't._

Severus looked over his appearance once more. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, with a piece of green ribbon. His suit was black, with green trim. The shirt under his jacket was green as well. He nodded at his reflection. He had showered three times in a row, just to make sure that he didn't look greasy.

He had made sure that he had covered himself in a body spray. Overall, he looked very good.

He stretched quickly and walked out of his common room. All around him, students were dressed in their best outfits, nervously looking for their dates. Severus smirked. Even the most brave students looked scared as they fidgeted with their hands.

Severus made his way slowly to the staircase that lead to the Great Hall. Annalese had said that she would meet him here, and he tried to stand cooly at the bottom of the staircase waiting for her.

Annalese smoothed her dress as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had finally found a way to smooth her hair down and it was pulled back and piled onto her head. She had curls framing her face and falling out of the loose knot she had on top of her head. Her dress was a dark green, and covered her small frame tightly. The dress was floor length and backless, showing off her petite form in the most perfect way. She had on a silver choker around her neck and a few silver bangles on her wrists.

Annalese turned this way and that, making sure she looked perfect. She smiled at herself in the mirror. She had on black eyeliner and shimmery silver eye shadow. Her hazel eyes shown almost caramel under her eye treatment. She smiled again. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the time. Severus would be waiting for her by now.

Walking out of her common room, she tried to steady her nerves. A couple of the boys who were loitering around outside the portrait stared at her. She blushed furiously, when one whistled appreciatively. Feeling more confident as she walked down the stairs she almost beamed when she saw Severus standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was facing the opposite direction and hadn't noticed her yet. But, she knew it was him by the way he was standing.

Severus was looking at a couple interacting across the hall. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the stairs. He thought he'd been struck by a 'Stupefy' when he looked at Annalese standing at the top of the stairs.

Severus opened his mouth to say something but could only gape like a fish as Annalese descended the staircase. Her green dress, shifting from side to side as she walked, could only be described as perfect. She looked heavenly.

At first, Severus hadn't been sure that it was her. He had just never expected Annalese to look this amazing. He knew that she was pretty, of course. But, this girl in front of him was downright gorgeous.

Annalese leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek, this seemed to bring him back to his senses. He closed his mouth and smiled at her.

"You look…gorgeous." Severus said with a beam.

Annalese blushed before saying quietly, "Thank you." She wasn't used to being praised for her looks, and it made her nervous. She shifted her feet and looked at Severus.

"Shall we?" Severus asked her, offering his arm.

Annalese nodded happily, and took the proffered arm.

As they walked past the doors and into the Great Hall, the couple stopped and stared at the massive room. The tables had been moved and now held concessions against the wall. The ceiling was charmed to look like the night sky, full of stars. Candles were hanging, suspended in midair. All around the room was decorated in dark shades of blue, and red. Silver and gold trim lined everything, even the robes of the teachers.

The duo marveled at the beauty of the room, who would of thought the place where they ate could be so gorgeous? There was music playing, a quiet ballad of some sort, but no one was dancing yet. It was still to early for that. And no one wanted to be the first to start.

Severus ushered Annalese over to the table where the punch was being held. He poured a cup for himself, and one for his date. He sniffed it first, to be sure it was punch and that no one had decided to put anything in it. Satisfied, he took a sip. Annalese did the same. The two locked eyes over their cups and smiled.

"You look nice." Annalese mentioned as she eyed the dance floor.

Severus nearly choked on his punch. _She complimented me, _he thought. Coughing a little, Severus managed to say, "Thank you." Before turning his back to her to wipe his chin.

The music changed, and a more jazzy song came on. Annalese grinned as her eyes widened. "I love this song!" She exclaimed happily, clapping her hands. She began tapping her foot, humming the beat.

Looking across the room, a couple of the more bold couples were swing dancing off to the side. Annalese grinned and looked at Severus. He followed her gaze and saw what she was thinking. She took and a step back.

"Oh, Annalese, no…" He said with a worried look.

"Awww, why not? Can you not do it?" She asked, pouting.

Raising an eyebrow, Severus peered at her. "Of course I can. I just don't want… I just don't want to be made fun of." He finished quietly.

Annalese rolled her eyes. "Well, if they make fun of you, than they can make fun of both of us." And with that, she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

Immediately, all eyes were on them. Severus reddened, knowing they were all looking at him. Annalese was stepping to the beat, encouraging him to do the same. Severus tried to back away and off the floor, when Annalese grabbed his hand and spun herself under his arm.

"Come on, Sev. Don't pay attention to them. It's just you and me at the moment." Annalese said to him, stroking his cheek. She was stepping to the beat again and Severus looked at her uncertainly.

Taking a deep breath, he too began to step to the beat. As he and Annalese began dancing, a murmur went up through the crowd. Severus was self-conscious, but Annalese seemed to be enjoying herself, so he tried to ignore it.

When Severus pulled her onto his hip and she kicked her legs in the air, a loud cheer went up from the crowd. After that, more students filed onto the dance floor and began to swing dance as well.

Annalese grinned, "And where did you learn to do that, Severus?" She asked him.

"My mother is a fan of Muggle music. Swing and big band happen to be her favorite. She and I used to take dance lessons together." Severus said, grinning.

He spun Annalese rapidly three times in a row, and pulled back just as the song ended. Out of breath the pair looked at one another and laughed. Everyone cheered, as another dance song came on. But, Severus and Annalese excused themselves from the dance floor and made their way back to the drink table.

They sipped their drinks and looked at the crowd, who were now all starting to dance, Annalese grinned.

"See, Sev? We did a good thing here. I mean, where would all these people be if we hadn't shown 'em how it was done?" She turned to look at him, her face all seriousness.

Severus looked at her, eyebrows raised, before he laughed. Unable to keep the straight face, Annalese laughed with him. They laughed until tears rolled from their eyes and they had to hold on to one another to keep from falling.

Severus was the first to recover himself, he straightened and wiped his eyes. Annalese followed suit, still smiling happily. Reaching down, she laced her fingers through his and hummed the rest of the song that was playing.

Severus glanced down at his hand and blushed. _She's touching me, and she initiated it. Gods, this is nice._ Squeezing her hand a little, Severus watched the group of dancing students in front of him. _There is no way this could get any better, _Severus thought to himself. And he was right.

Just as he was about to turn and ask Annalese if she wanted to dance again, he looked past her shoulder and almost groaned. A very malicious looking Sirius Black was coming towards them, James Potter and Remus Lupin in tow.

--

Severus closed his eyes tightly against the rest of the memory. He didn't need to be thinking about that right now. Right now, he had to think about Hermione. Well, not like that anyway. He had to think up something for her to do during her detention…


	5. Chapter 5

-1Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (except Annalese) or anything.

Author's Notes:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chap. 5

Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall. She looked at Harry and Ron sitting across from her, trying to write their Transfiguration essays. She smiled sadly at them, before saying:

"Hey guys, I gotta go, it'll be eight in a bit."

The two looked up from their papers, before looking at the clock. Ron rolled his eyes, and Harry said, "Yeah, okay. Good luck, 'Mione."

She nodded sagely and grabbed her book bag. Walking down the corridors of Hogwarts tonight was starting to freak her out. She was jumping at her own shadow. That wasn't like her, she was normally so level-headed about things. But, tonight she was afraid that something was watching her.

Hermione glanced behind her quickly as she continued down the hall. Descending the staircase into the dungeons, Hermione quickened her pace. Did she hear breathing behind her? Hermione glanced over her shoulder and thought she saw something. She looked ahead and saw Snape's door just a few feet away. Breaking into a jog, Hermione grabbed the handle of the door and jerked it open. Nearly jumping inside and slamming the door behind her, she leaned against the door and panted.

Hermione held her hand to her chest and tried to catch her breath. Glancing to her right she saw Severus Snape peering at her. She nodded to him and tilted forward. She coughed thickly before turning to face Snape.

"Miss Granger, I appreciate your desire to be on time, but, I assure you, it was not necessary to run." Snape said, eyebrows raised.

Hermione nodded her head quickly and coughed again. "I-I'm sorry, sir. I… was just…" Hermione paused in her explanation to think about what she would say. She didn't want to tell him that she had been scared, and that's why she had ran. It seemed like he would think that was weak, and she didn't need that right now.

"I'm sorry, Professor." She said finally, deciding not to explain at all. It wasn't his business anyway.

Snape looked at her dispassionately, "Well, since you're here now, I have something for you to do." Severus rustled through the papers on his desk before pulling out a manuscript. "I would like you to read this and tell me your thoughts."

Hermione looked at him in distrust at first. When he merely stared back at her, papers in hand, she finally grabbed them from him.

She set her book bag down on the floor and took a chair at the closest desk to her. Looking at Severus for a moment, she bent her head to read the papers before her.

Severus was nervous about having Hermione read his manuscript. Granted, he didn't tell her that he was the one who wrote it. But, he was sure she'd figure it out, she wasn't dumb after all.

Severus wasn't sure about putting himself out there. But, it had happened for him at one point, it could happen again. Mentally sighing, Severus went to sit at his desk and look over the book he had confiscated from Hermione earlier. _Was having her read that a bad idea? I mean, what if she thinks it's ridiculous? Well, of course she won't think that… But, what if she does?_ Severus was getting increasingly upset as he looked from his book to Hermione every so often. He could see her frown at things she was reading and he glanced back down at his book. Only to look back up a few seconds later.

_This is terrible, I'm Severus freaking Snape! I shouldn't be acting like this. I'm proud, I'm a Slytherin and I'm a Snape. What more do I need? Approval._ Answered a small voice in the back of his mind._ Shut the fuck up, _Severus snarled at it.

After an hour of this torture, Hermione finally looked up. Her right eyebrow was raised and she was chewing on her lower lip. "Sir?" Hermione asked.

Snape looked up at her quickly. Quickly schooling his features into a nonchalant expression, Severus looked at her simply. "Miss Granger?"

"Sir…" Hermione started uncertainly, "I'm not sure about this. None of these theories have been proven. But, I must say, that I agree with them. A couple of them I'm actually surprised aren't proven yet. And I think… I think that whomever you got these from, deserves to be a published Potions theorist. I mean, the uses of octopus tentacles have never really been researched properly. But, I'd like to see what they'd do in a healing potion."

Snape looked at Hermione, mentally cheering. "Oh, you think? I must agree. There are quite a few things that haven't fully been researched. Octopus tentacles just happen to be one of them. I've always loved the way the octopus looked, and after looking over some of its qualities, I realized how helpful it would be in a healing potion."

Hermione smiled, "You wrote this, sir?"

Severus blanched. "Er… yes. Yes, I did. Is there a problem with that, Miss Granger?"

"Not at all, sir. I'm just surprised that you're here teaching at Hogwarts, and not writing and discovering things. What with these papers and all, it's just so strange that you know… you haven't published anything." Hermione finished lamely.

Snape coughed into his hand. _This is getting a little weird, what the hell do I say now?_

Hermione looked down at the papers in her hand, "Oh um…here you go." She said before handing the papers back to him.

Severus nodded, the two stared at each other for a minute before Snape asked, "So, what do you think the effects of something like octopus would have on say, a blood-replenishing potion?"

Hermione smiled, as she began to speak. And the two became more comfortable the more they talked. Before they had realized it, two more hours had gone by, and after that, another half hour.

Reluctantly, Severus sent Hermione back to her room. It was irresponsible of him to of kept her out so late. But, she was just so interesting to talk to. Granted, she wasn't as well read as he was. But, he was also more than 20 years her senior. So, it was excusable.

_What am I going to do with myself? Why can't I find someone my own age to talk to? Because no one your age likes you, idiot. _Severus sighed and leaned back in his chair. Propping his hands behind his head, he looked up at the ceiling. _She does have some good insight into some of my theories. Which is good. Well, there's always tomorrow._

Hermione almost skipped back to her common room. It was so awesome that she could talk to someone about academics and things. Someone who isn't constantly complaining anyway.

Hermione hummed as she bounced up the stairs and almost chirped the password to the sleepy Fat Lady. Strolling into the common room, she almost didn't notice Ron sitting in a chair near the fire. As soon as she entered he bounced up and looked at her concerned.

"'Mione?" He asked cautiously.

"Hm? Oh, hey Ron, what's up?" Hermione asked cheerfully.

"Um.. Are you okay?" Ron asked looking her over carefully.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," Hermione paused to take a step back, "Why?"

"You're really late. And you seem really happy. Snape wasn't testing potions on you or anything was he?" Ron asked, quite serious.

Hermione laughed. "No, of course not. We were just talking about some theories he was proposing."

Ron frowned at her. "Why are you so cheerful?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's nice to talk to someone… who ya know, likes potions."

Ron's frown deepened. But he didn't say anything further on the subject. Instead, he said, "Alright, night then, 'Mione."

"Yeah, G'night, Ron, see ya tomorrow." Hermione waved as she turned in the other direction and went upstairs to the girls dormitories.

Ron watched her go, and bit the side of his cheek to hold back a growl. "It better be just talk about potions, 'Mione. If that greasy git tries anything with you, I'll kill him. I promise you that." And with that, he turned and went up to bed.

The next morning, the Golden Trio was awake and ready for breakfast right on time. Hermione was even in a good mood, despite her late night. She smiled happily as they approached the Great Hall.

"I am so hungry this morning! I have no idea why." She said with a grin.

Harry smiled at her, "I know what you mean, it must have been from that intense studying we were doing the other night, huh?"

Hermione laughed. "Intense, sure. It was you two racking your brains for the answers and me sitting there reading. But, if that's what you want to call it."

Hermoine glanced at Ron. He'd been quiet this morning. Sure, he's kept up with their antics, but he seemed distant the whole time. And what with his odd reaction to her detention last night, she was starting to worry about him.

"Ron, are you super pumped for breakfast?" She asked him happily.

"Yeah, sure." He said, not really paying attention.

Frowning a little, Hermione turned to look at Harry. He only shrugged in reply. Rolling her eyes, Hermione entered the Great Hall and sat in her customary spot at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione glanced up to the Staff Table and noticed Severus looking at her. She looked down quickly._ What the fuck? Why has he been doing that so much recently? Maybe it's because he's afraid I'll have another outburst… No, that doesn't make sense. Who knows, maybe he just thinks I'm a hottie. _She mentally laughed, and gagged at the same time. How silly.

And with that, she tucked into her breakfast, and talked to her friends.

Severus Snape watched Hermione enter the Great Hall with her friends, and smiled mentally. He was glad that she came down to breakfast this morning. Considering how late he kept her last night, he was surprised that she hadn't taken the time to sleep more.

Snape took a moment to look over her companions. Potter looked the same as always. Weasley, on the other hand, seemed very off today. He looked disheveled, more so than usual anyway. And he seemed very upset about something. Hermione obviously didn't know how much. Snape was used to dealing with people, and could tell when different people were upset. And Ronald Weasley, definitely pissed off about something.

_Who knows? Red-heads are a temperamental lot, that wasn't just a generalization either._ With a final look at Hermione, Snape sipped his coffee. Trying to prepare himself for the day to come. He had some of the Gryffindors today that he hadn't had yesterday. And they weren't getting special treatment. They would be terrorized just like everyone else yesterday.

Mentally, Severus grinned wickedly. _Oh, it feels so good to be bad…_ He thought.

Albus Dumbledore picked that exact moment to ruin Severus's good thoughts with his cheerful demeanor. For the next fifteen minutes, Albus talked incessantly about this or that. Obviously, pleased that he could agitate Severus. Severus was imagining squeezing the old man's head between his thumb and index finger, when Minerva turned to Dumbledore to ask him something.

Pleased for the relief, Severus excused himself from the table and swept off to his rooms. _I've still got another half hour before classes start. I think I'll just lounge on my couch for a while. Ah yes, with a book. That would be nice._

Severus walked to his rooms, glad to know that he was going to go do something that he enjoyed. And there he stayed until the bell rang for the first class to start. Sighing heavily, Severus put down his book and got up. He remembered a line from a Muggle movie he'd seen once, and said it aloud with a note of sarcasm in his voice; "Welcome to the thunder dome."

The end of the day couldn't come faster for Severus. Never in his life had he wanted classes to over so badly. Well, that wasn't necessarily true. But, he really didn't want to be in class today. He set aside papers to be graded later, and potions to check and instead got out what he wanted to work with Hermione on.

The potion he'd been brewing for the past few weeks.

It was still an experimental potion, so he wasn't sure how to proceed. But, he thought that if he brought it up with her, she might have some ideas. The curious little tart, had been researching it that day she exploded on him in the library.

Severus smiled at the memory. She was fiery when she was angry. Even if she had been cruel with him, he supposed he deserved it.

Carefully, he began setting up what he needed for the potion.

Hermione looked up at the clock for the 5th time in a row. _Time's to slow, _she thought grumpily._ I just want to go to my detention._ Hermione couldn't help but smile at that. What a ludicrous thing to want. But, going to detention, was more like going to a class she loved. It was just so much fun. And Snape was almost fun to be with when he was in his element. And not lording it over everyone. When he felt like he was with an equal, then he was fun.

Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer, and grabbed her things.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go now. I'll just walk slow." She said in way of explanation.

Harry smiled and gave her the thumbs up. Ron just looked at her sullenly.

"See ya, 'Mione. Good luck." Harry said.

Hermione waved and made her way out of the portrait hole. However, she didn't keep to her promise. She walked as fast as she could, without looking bizarre. There were a couple students standing outside the portrait hole talking. And as she rounded a corner, she spied a couple snogging behind a statue. Rolling her eyes, she continued walking.

_I wish I had someone to snog with… _Hermione thought suddenly._ What? Where did that come from? You don't care about things like that. All you want is to study and be top of the class. There's time for snogging later in life. Besides, who would you be snogging anyway?_ Certainly none of the Gryffindor boys. They were all like brothers to her. Slytherins were… well, Slytherins. The Hufflepuff boys mostly acted like they had vaginas, and she didn't need that, she had one already. That just left the Ravenclaws… And most of them acted like they were better than everyone else. Not all of them, but most of them did that anyway. _So, that just leaves me. _Hermione shrugged mentally._ Ah hell, what's it matter anyway? I don't need to justify my existence through anyone else. But… it would be nice to be loved by someone._

Hermione almost missed the door to the Potions classroom in her musings. _I wonder if Professor Snape has ever loved anyone before…_ Hermione shook her head and knocked on the door.

There was silence before a deep voice said, "Enter."

Hermione pushed open the door cautiously, and peeked in. Snape was standing over a cauldron, checking the contents.

"Professor, I'm early, but…" Hermione began.

"Miss Granger, how kind of you to come so early. Was it my pretty face that you missed, or my pleasant demeanor?" Snape, still looking at his potion.

Hermione smiled. "Oh, Professor, you know I missed both."

She saw Snape stiffen and pause in his work. Hermione grinned. _Ah, he wasn't expecting me to answer with a sassy comment._

Snape turned and looked at her. "Well, Miss Granger, I'll need you to cast that charm on yourself again."

Hermione looked at him with a confused look. She caught a whiff of the potion as it wafted through the room and felt faint. Severus could see the enlightenment spread across her face.

Hermione quickly cast the charm on herself and tilted her head at Severus.

"Professor?" She asked._ Where the hell had this confidence come from? Maybe it's from working so closely with him earlier._ Severus nodded at her.

Immediately, they got to work. Cutting, dicing, stirring, and discussing. Once again, the time flew, and neither of them looked up at the clock until it was far past curfew. They had even gotten to the point where they were joking with one another. They were dry sarcastic jokes, but jokes none the less.

Hermione was laughing at one when she happened to catch the clock.

"Oh hell!" She exclaimed.

Severus looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. He followed her line of sight and saw the time. Trying to hide the look of surprise on his face, he nonchalantly turned to usher Hermione out the door.

Grabbing her book bag before leaving, Severus cautioned her, "Don't get caught. I do not want to get into trouble for something that was your own doing."

Hermione smirked. "Of course not, sir. I'll be careful."

He nodded at her, and she turned to go.

Severus watched Hermione go. He smiled when he was sure that she wasn't going to turn around. _I like this. I like working with her. But, I can't let her get caught, or else Albus would be all over me._

Severus whispered a simple cloaking spell on Hermione just as she was about to turn a corner. He watched her shiver, but continue walking.

Severus turned and closed his door. _I need to clean this up, I'm going to be an asshole tomorrow. I can already tell._

Hermione again walked up to her common room, happy. _We were even joking tonight! This is so great. What an amazing lab partner._ Hermione hummed a tune and stepped quietly into her common room. She bounced up the steps to the girls dormitory and didn't notice Ron standing in the shadows watching her.

As soon as she was gone from sight, he frowned. _That bastard, he's doing something to her. And I'm going to find out what. Even if I have to kill someone to do it._

The rest of the week followed in about the same manner. Ron became more and more agitated by the day, and Harry and Hermione became increasingly perplexed. Hermione, however, was happier with each passing day. Even her late weren't bringing her down. Working on something she actually cared about was having a good effect on her. And working with someone she liked wasn't hurting her either.

With each day that went by, she and Severus became more and more comfortable with one another. They joked more and they talked more. Mostly about potions, but, they occasionally talked about what Hermione would do after Hogwarts, and things of that nature.

Granted, he was still stand-offish. And Hermione didn't expect that to go away after working with her for only a week. But, it was nice none the less.

On her way to her last detention, Hermione thought back over the past week._ This has been crazy. Who would have thought, Snape and I working together civilly. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Student and teacher. It was neat. _

As she turned a corner, that couple from earlier in the week were in the same place behind the statue. Hermione rolled her eyes again. _Honestly, is there no better place to do something like that?_

Hermione walked down the last staircase on her way to the dungeon, and stiffened. That feeling that she was being followed was back. Someone was watching her. It was eerie. Looking over her shoulder, she frowned. _What the fuck is that?_

Quickening her pace to the potions classroom, Hermione refused to run. _I'm not going to run, I'm in Hogwarts, I'm safe. Just chill, Hermione, chill._

Hermione looked over her shoulder only once the rest of the walk there. She knocked on the door, and was greeted with an, 'Enter!' from within.

Pushing open the door, Hermione walked in and set her book bag on the floor. Severus nodded at her. "Good evening, Miss Granger. How did today find you?"

"Quite well, sir. Yourself?" Hermione asked.

Severus grimaced slightly and Hermione got the hint. She had heard about what some of the first years had gotten into this morning. Nasty business.

"What are we doing tonight, sir?" Hermione asked, rubbing her hands together.

Severus smirked mentally. _She likes doing this. Severus you've gone soft, students are actually liking detention with you. _"Well, we're almost finished with our potion. It'll take a couple of days to sit, but today's the last day that we have to do anything with it."

Hermione gave a firm nod, and took off her outer robe. Rolling up her sleeves, she put her hands on her hips. "What then?" She asked, no nonsense.

"Have you ever heard that patience is a virtue, Miss Granger?" Snape asked her folding his arms across his chest.

"I think someone mentioned it to me once. But, I think I chalked his patience up to laziness, so I ignored it." Hermione quipped back.

Severus rolled his eyes. "There isn't much to do today, we just need to add some ingredients, and stir it a couple times, then we're done for the night."

Severus wasn't sure, but he thought that he might have seen Hermione's face sadden a bit. But, it was gone in an instant.

Severus nodded towards the potion and Hermione cast her charm on herself. She still wasn't quite sure what the potion was supposed to do. Severus wouldn't tell her exactly. Mostly, he said it was because he didn't know what it was going to do. It was still experimental.

Hermione wrinkled her nose to take care of an itch and she thought she saw Severus smile at the movement. She looked at him and he merely looked back, no expression. _Must have been my imagination, _Hermione thought. _How weird though, I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I wouldn't mind the attention from Snape. He wasn't that bad looking after all._ She kicked herself mentally. She had no idea where her head was these days. That was a completely off the wall thought. He was a teacher after all. _That's what I have to keep telling myself. He's a teacher._

_She almost caught me smiling at her. I have to be more careful, _Severus thought.

"Well, um. Dice these and I'll watch the potion to make sure we don't add anything to late." Severus said.

Hermione nodded and took the knife that was lying on the table and began dicing away at the ingredient on the table.

"So, Professor…" Hermione began.

"Yes?" Snape asked, not looking up from the potion.

"How did you handle the first years this morning? I mean, that had to of been a heck of a mess." Hermione said lamely.

Snape glanced at her before looking back down. "I've dealt with worse, Miss Granger, trust me. Must worse."

Hermione shivered at the tone of his voice. She was reminded of his position as a spy for the Order. She nodded curtly, and went back to work quickly.

_Ah, that sounded to mean, Severus. You've upset the poor girl. Ask her something…_ Snape was thinking furiously. "And how were classes today, Miss Granger?"

Hermione shrugged. "Same old, same old. Homework, piled on top of more homework. Not a big deal though."

"Ah." Severus said simply.

_What the hell's going on? It hasn't ever been this awkward when we were working on this potion. Maybe she's decided that she doesn't like you? That would make sense. I don't know why it took her so long to realize though. _Severus was thinking without much reason. He was just letting his thoughts drift wildly.

_Why is this so weird?_ Hermione thought._ It's like we've got nothing to talk about. Well, I mean. It isn't like we had a lot to talk about before. But, at least there was something. Now, there's just… nothing. It's weird. It's like there's freaking sexual tension in here or something. _

Hermione stopped dicing momentarily, letting that thought sink into her head. _What the fuck, sexual tension? Hermione, you've got to stop watching those romantic movies. Stupid shows. Like, in a second now, Snape and I will try to say something at the same time, and we'll both stop and blush, or some nonsense like that. I'm not frivolous like that. I know I'm not. So, where is this coming from?_

"So-"Snape started. Only to be cut off by Hermione who said, "Well-"

The two looked at each other and then went back to their work._ Oh my fucking god. That did not just happen. But, I think it did. Well, at least there wasn't any blushing to be had._

"Miss Granger?" Snape asked.

"Yes?" Hermione said hopefully.

"You can stop dicing now. I think you're dicing a hole in my cutting board."

Hermione looked down. _Well, shit…_ She had been cutting a hole in the board. She grimaced.

"I'm sorry." She said simply. Not able to look up.

"It's alright. Just don't let it happen again. You may add the ingredients to the potion now. Do it slow and scatter them around. Don't pour them in in a huge lump." Severus said trying to save the situation. _What the hell, what was wrong?_

Hermione nodded and lifted the board to add the diced ingredient to the boiling cauldron in front of her. Snape grabbed her wrist, just as she tilted the board. "Wait." He said quickly.

Hermione widened her eyes and nodded. She could feel a blush creep across her cheeks. _What am I doing? He just needed you to wait a second, he isn't touching you for any other reason than that. And not only that, he's a teacher! You shouldn't be acting like this._

Hermione took a deep breath, just as Severus released her and allowed her to scrap off the cutting board into the cauldron.

_What a strange feeling. All I did was grab her wrist. It was probably unnecessary, but I didn't want her to accidentally ruin the potion. But, what a strange feeling. Like little wisps of silk under my fingertips. How weird._ Severus glanced down at Hermione, she was intent on what she was doing. He watched her clean the cutting board and could himself start to smile. Coughing quickly to school his features, he scratched his nose, trying to play it off.

Hermione turned to look at him. She shrugged and went back to cleaning the board._ There is not sexual tension between you and Professor Snape, there is not sexual tension between you and Professor Snape. Oh gods, I think there might be sexual tension between me and Professor Snape. This sucks._

Hermione turned and set the now clean board on the counter. She started to say something, when she caught him looking at her in an odd way. She pulled back a little and opened her mouth again.

"Professor, um…" She started to say.

But, before she could finish her sentence, which probably wouldn't have turned out very well anyway, she found that her mouth was covered. She stopped and blinked rapidly. _Oh my god, _was all she could think._ Professor Snape is kissing me. What the…mmmm._

Snape was looking at the girl as she brought back the cutting board. He knew that he must have a strange expressino on his face but he couldn't help it. She looked amazing like this. Sleeves rolled up, hair put up messily, happy from working on a potion with him. Simply amazing.

And before he realized it, he was holding her face to his, kissing her. Severus almost groaned when he noticed that she was kissing him back.

_Oh wow… she tastes great. Wait, tastes…_ Severus finally came back to his senses and pulled back. Hermione was looking at him with slightly cloudy eyes, and a soft smile on her lips. _Oh fuck shit._

Severus took a step back and was disgusted with himself when he noticed that Hermione took the step with him. _What do I do? What do I do?_ He was almost in a panic now. Severus felt his eye twitch and looked down at Hermione. _What have I done to her?_

"Miss Granger…" Snape tried to find an excuse.

"Professor?" She asked him dreamily.

_What the fuck is wrong with her? Why is she acting like this?_ "Miss Granger, Hermione, that… that was a mistake. I didn't mean for that to happen. You should… you should get your things and go back to your common room. Okay?" He thought that maybe using her given name would get to her better than just saying 'Miss Granger'.

It worked. Hermione seemed to snap out of whatever daze she was in and looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh, Professor…" She said quietly.

Severus held up a hand. "Miss Granger, I apologize for that. It was my fault. I was taking advantage of you. I realize how lowly that was of me. Please forgive me." Severus said, not sounding as if he deserved forgiveness.

Hermione, still in shock only nodded.

"Get your things and go to your common room, Miss Granger, I'm so sorry." Severus said sadly.

Hermione nodded again and grabbed her things. She walked to the door and turned around to see Severus, fists clenched and head held down, glaring at the table. He looked about ready to kill. His hair had fallen in his face, and Hermione noticed how it curled loosely at the ends and framed his face. She smiled at that.

Looking at the door and looking back at him, she gently set her things down. _He thinks that I left. He's so wrapped up in self-loathing, that he doesn't even notice that I'm still here. _

Cautiously, Hermione walked up behind Severus and wrapped her arms around his waist. He flinched slightly at her touch. "It's okay Professor. I didn't mind, don't be to upset."

And with that, Hermione turned and grabbed her things. She glanced over her shoulder once, to see Snape watching her go. She smiled at him, and left. In the hall, she let out a breath and leaned against the door.

"Wow." Hermione said aloud. "Wow."

A shape materialized out of the shadows, a shape with red hair and a pissed off look. Hermione squeaked in surprise, before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Ron, you scared the hell out of me, what are you doing down here?" Hermione asked, curious.

"Did you fuck him?" Ron asked, almost in a whisper.

Hermione looked at him with disbelief on her face. "Uh, what?"

"Don't make me repeat myself! You heard me." Ron spat in fury.

"What, no, of course not. He's a teacher. Why would I do something like that?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"You tell me, you tramp. I don't understand why someone would want that nasty piece of shit, but apparently you do." Ron said venomously.

"You have no right to say that, Ron Weasley. No fucking right. No, go back to the common roo-" Was all Hermione got out, before a fist came crashing into her face and she blacked out.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, 'cept Annalese and the Aqualux's.

Author's Notes: Yay, we made it to chapter 6. I'm proud of myself. I still really like how the story is flowing. So, yeah. Let me know what ya think. Ciao!

P.S. The new Harry Potter movie sucked.

P.P.S. Um, and there's like this kinda sexual scene in this chapter. I've given you fair warning!

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Chap. 6

Hermione felt her eyelids flutter before she opened them. Her vision was cloudy at first, but, after a second she looked up and could make out a face staring down at her. Squinting, Hermione could make out a nose, and then dark hair, that curled at the ends.

"Professor?"

Hermione could see the look of relief on his face as she spoke. "Thank the gods, I wasn't sure whether or not I'd have to bring you to Poppy or not." Severus brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Miss Granger, what happened?"

Hermione furrowed her brows. What had happened? She had left the classroom, and then… spoken to Ron. And then there was nothing.

"Professor, where did you find me?" Hermione asked, sitting up.

Snape frowned before responding, "Outside the classroom door. I heard a bang and went to see what had happened."

Hermione thought hard. "Was… Was there… Did you see anyone in the halls?" Hermione asked carefully.

Snape peered at Hermione. "Maybe, why?"

Hermione shrugged quickly. "Just wondering."

Snape looked at her closely. "In fact, now that I think about it, I saw someone who looked a lot like Mr. Weasley, taking off down the hall."

Hermione's expression darkened. _So, it had been him. That fucking bastard had punched her in the face._

Snape noticed the look on her face, which confirmed his suspicions. "Miss Granger, your nose was broken and you were bleeding everywhere. Did Mr. Weasley… hit you?"

"Oh, no. Of course not. Why would he do something like that?" Hermione said defensively.

Severus looked at her carefully. _She thinks she can lie to me. Foolish._ "Miss Granger, what happened? I don't hold a particular fondness for your Mr. Weasley, however, I know that he would never hit you without a good reason. Well, a good reason for him. Which may not be much of a reason at all."

Hermione looked down at her hands. "He didn't do anything, sir. I swear."

Snape was already irritated with this. He took Hermione by the shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. "Hermione," he started, the shock of hearing her own name on his lips, caused her to pay more attention to him. "Hermione, what did he do? Don't try to protect him. I'm sure that he had no justifiable reason for hitting you."

Hermione looked into his eyes for a moment before looking down again. She was reluctant to tell him what had happened. Mostly, because she didn't want him to think she was weak. And, despite the fact that he had hit her, she still had some twisted loyalty for him.

Hermione pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. "Sir, he…he accused me- He accused me of sleeping with you." She rushed the last bit of the sentence, trying to get it out as quickly as possible.

Severus looked at her shocked. Unable to say anything._ That Weasley bastard. He accuses her of fucking me and then he hits her?! That little shit._ Severus frowned, to the point that it looked like the lines in his face would be etched there forever.

Hermione misinterpreted and thought that he was upset with her. Not knowing what to do, and being confused with so many events happening so quickly, she started to sniffle. After a moment, the sniffling became crying. And after that point, she couldn't stop herself.

_Oh hell! What am I supposed to do now? I don't know what to do with a crying woman…_ Severus looked at Hermione with a confused frown. He reached towards her, but let his arms fall to his sides. _Um… _

"Miss Granger, please don't cry. It's alright. I assure you, Weasley will pay for this, I give you my word." Severus said, trying to be consoling.

Hermione only started to cry harder.

_Crap, now what?_ Snape took a step towards her and she immediately grabbed onto the edges of his robe. Severus looked down, confused. He saw the white knuckled grip she had on his clothing, as if she needed him to live. Severus felt a flutter in his heart. She needed him…

In response, Severus put his arms around Hermione, awkwardly trying to comfort her. He wasn't used to dealing with these situations.

"Shhh, there now. It's okay. Just tell me what you need, Miss Granger… Hermione." Snape said hugging her closer.

Hermione nodded slightly into his chest, and tried to calm herself. Snape gripped her tighter, noticing the smell of her hair. _Pumpkin pie, that's amazing, _Snape thought.

Hermione took a shaky breath after a few seconds. _I'm okay, I'm okay. Severus Snape is comforting me. But, I'm still okay._

After another minute, Hermione pulled back from Severus slightly. Snape let go reluctantly. Hermione looked up at her cold potions professor, who only looked concerned for her now. Hermione smiled at that. The man who was supposed to be the 'greasy bat of the dungeons' and the man who's supposedly the most horrible person in the world.' was concerned for her, because she was crying.

"Thank you, sir. I… should have controlled myself. I apologize." Hermione said, staring him straight in the eye.

Snape lifted a hand cautiously, paused, then continued. He put the palm of his hand on Hermione's cheek, and brushed at a tear that was falling down her face with his thumb. "As long as you're alright. But, you should not shed tears for Weasley. Crying is okay, but, it isn't a cure. The problem is still there." Severus rubbed away another tear. "I'm just glad that you aren't truly hurt." He said quietly.

Hermione looked Severus square in the eye. She smiled a little, and Severus couldn't help himself. He edged forward, and gave her a peck on the lips. Hermione whimpered slightly, at the sound, Severus leaned forward and kissed her harder.

Hermione moaned into his mouth, encouraging him further. He could feel Hermione weaving her hands behind his head and into his hair. When she squirmed under him, he stopped. He had pinned her leg under his body and, he guessed, it wasn't very comfortable.

Severus looked at her, and she looked at him. His hair was slightly tousled and curled at the ends, from her messing with it. And her breathing was ragged from the new experience.

They looked at each other silently for nearly a minute. Before Hermione smiled. Snape looked into her almost caramel eyes, they were still red._ This is all because she's upset over Weasley and being hit. This has nothing to do with you, except that you're a pervert. You're molesting a student! You idiot, stop now._

Severus looked at Hermione, pain in his eyes. He masked it quickly, but, she had seen it.

She frowned at him, confused. "Um…?"

Snape shook his head, signaling for her to be quiet. "No, Miss Granger, no. I have done this twice now. I am sorry, I am taking advantage of you. I don't deserve forgiveness. Please, return to your common room, I'll inform Dumbledore of Weasley's actions." He had decided that he would drop the mister. Weasley didn't deserve it anyway.

Hermione's eyes widened. "I-I… don't want to…"

Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "Miss Granger, you don't know what you want. Go back to your room."

Hermione looked down at her hands. "Professor, I don't know what happened… either time. But, I-I think I liked it." Hermione said hopefully, not looking up.

_Oh fuck, oh fuck, what do I do now?_ "Miss Granger, I made a mistake, twice. I should not of done that. What I did was completely inappropriate. And I won't ask you to forgive me. Go to sleep now, I'll take care of this Weasley situation."

Hermione looked at Severus, trying to get any emotion from him. There was none, none that she could find anyway.

"But…" Hermione started.

Severus held up a hand for silence. "No, there will be no more discussion, to your room, now."

Angered, Hemione grabbed her things, and stormed out of the potions classroom. Severus listened to the door slam and closed his eyes. _I'm sorry, Hermione…_

"I can't believe this crap! First, I get accused of sleeping with a teacher, then I get punched in the face. And now! Now, the aforementioned teacher is all, messing with my emotions." Hermione stomped down the hall, on her way to her common room.

I can't believe this. I am so livid right now. Gryffindor beware, no one better try to cross my path when I get up there. Or there will be hell to pay!" Hermione clenched her fists tighter and continued walking.

_But why am I getting so upset? Shouldn't I be glad that he apologized for kissing me? Shouldn't I be disgusted that he even attempted it? But… I'm not. I'm just not, and I don't know why. This is so confusing. Am I really attracted to Snape? And from what I can tell of earlier, he's attracted to me too._

_But, he could lose his license from getting involved with a student. This is so fucked up. But, I can't help myself, I kinda just want to go back to the dungeons and cuddle with him._

Hermione laughed out loud at that thought. Cuddling with Snape? What a silly thought. Oh, and now she had a visual, how funny.

Hermione smirked. Well, this was her last year. So, maybe once she graduated. But, that's silly. _I've only got a crush. That's all it is, I'm just attracted to his intelligence. And I could be expelled for having a relationship with a teacher. Dumbledore would be furious._

Hermione sighed. This was way to complicated. And she thought her only problems were the impending N.E.W.T.s. Hermione stopped walking as she reached her common room.

Annoyed, she said the password and went through the portrait hole. It was still early enough for their to be some students in the common room, and they all looked up at her as she entered. Harry jumped to his feet when she came in, and walked towards her quickly.

"Mione," Harry whispered, "what happened?" He looked around quickly. "Ron's all upset, something about you and Snape."

Hermione looked levelly at him. _I don't want to do this right now. Ugh…_ She ushered him over to a corner of the room, where no one would eavesdrop on them.

"What did you hear?" She asked quietly.

"Just Ron saying something about how he can't believe you and Snape. Mostly he's just babbling incoherently." Harry said squeezing his hands together.

Hermione nodded. "Well, Ron for some reason, seems to think that I'm sleeping with Snape," At Harry's horrified look she held up a hand, "Let me finish. And when I left my detention, he confronted me about it, and then he punched me in the face. I blacked out and he apparently broke my nose."

Harry looked at her, his mouth hanging open. "But… But your nose looks fine?"

"Snape fixed it. He found me laying outside of his classroom, and cleaned me up. I guess Ron took off." Hermione said, bitterness in her voice.

Harry searched her face, hoping that she was joking. He noticed the serious set of her jaw, and gulped. "He, he hit you? Like, he really hit you in the face?"

"And broke my nose." Hermione added.

"I-I can't believe this. Why would Ron ever do something like that? You said he did it because he thought you were sleeping with Snape? What the hell, why did you think that?" Harry asked in disbelief.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. I have no idea what goes on inside his head. Even less now that he did this."

"Oh wow. Are you… Are you going to tell Dumbledore?" Harry asked, suddenly afraid for his best friend.

Hermione sneered at the worry in his voice. "Professor Snape said he'd take care of it. So, I assume he'll tell Dumbeldore."

"Well, maybe he had a good reason, or something. I'm sure he didn't do it just because he thought you were sleeping with…" He looked like he was fighting the urge to vomit, "Snape."

"Whatever the reason, he did it. And that's inexcusable." Hermione said, a steely note in her voice._ Wow, I'm way more pissed about this that I thought. I didn't even know I could sound so cold._

Harry nodded jerkily. He was clearly upset with his best friends actions. But, Ron still was his best friend. He couldn't just let him ruin himself like this. Or maybe… Maybe Hermione was under a spell! Maybe Ron really didn't do anything, maybe Malfoy was trying to split them apart?

"Hermione, are you sure all this happened? I mean, are you yourself, you're not under a spell or a potion or anything are you?" Harry asked hopefully.

Hermione looked at him, eyebrows raised. He was kidding, right? "You're joking, right? Like I mean, you don't really think I'm under a spell do you? Or are you saying that you don't believe me?"

_Oh, shit, _Harry thought. _I've pissed her off._

"Thanks for being a friend, Harry. Thanks a fucking lot!" Hermione grabbed her things and stormed off to the girls dormitory.

_Fuck, _Harry thought.

Hermione threw her things into a corner and lay face down on her bed. _Those bastards. Ron hits me and Harry doesn't believe me. So much for best friends. Why couldn't I have just gotten girl friends, why did I have to pick them?_

Hermione rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. _I miss Snape…_ She thought sadly.

Snape threw a cauldron against the wall. The metallic sound of metal on stone reverberated throughout the classroom, and Severus slammed his fists against the table in front of him. "Fuck!" He yelled loudly.

After a moment of panting angrily, he allowed himself to relax his tensed muscles. He slumped to the floor and leaned his head back against the table. "Fuck." He said again, in almost a whisper.

_This is terrible, what the hell do I do in a situation like this? Things are going to be so awkward in class now. Just because I'm a perverted old man, who can't keep his fucking tongue in his mouth. _

_And now, Weasley suspects something. I'm going to have to go and report him to the Headmaster soon. What a horrible situation. And if Hermione mentions that I kissed her, not once, but twice! I will be removed from my position here at Hogwarts, and then… Then the Dark Lord won't have any more use for me. I'll be tortured and killed for my stupidity. And all because I couldn't resist the bushy-haired girl. I'm so fucked._

Severus rested his forehead on his knees, and took a calming breath. He sighed heavily. "You're nothing but a nasty pervert, Severus. Snivellus."

Stretching out his legs to stand, Severus rose to his feet and grabbed the cauldron he had thrown. There was a huge dent in the side. Casting a quick repairing charm, he set the cauldron down on the table and decided to go see Albus. _What's the worst that could happen? I mean, I end up fired, tortured and killed. It could be worse, right?_

And with that thought, Severus exited his classroom and walked slowly to Dumbledore's office. The whole time, all he could do was think about that night at the ball.

--

Severus ran out of the Great Hall quickly. He tried his best to cover his face, so that no one would see that he was crying. Annalese was chasing after him, trying vainly to get him to slow down.

He slowed once they were far away from the Great Hall, and Sirius Black. Annalese caught his shoulder as she tried desperately to catch her breath. She wasn't in very good shape, so the run had tired her.

"Sev-Severus?" She said as she took in deep gulps of air.

Severus shook off her hand and went back to walking briskly.

"Severus!" She shouted at him, almost angry. "Stop this instant, don't walk away from me!" She grabbed him by the sleeve, and he turned to face her. His eyes were streaming tears and he looked at her in despair.

"Oh, Sev." She said as she pulled him into a hug. She stroked his hair, which had come out of its tie.

Severus clung to her tightly, crying harder. Annalese cooed into his ear, trying to calm him down and make him feel better. After a couple minutes of this, Severus stopped crying and stood shaking in her arms.

Annalese pulled back slightly to look at him. His eyes were red, and puffy, and still looked moist. His breathing was hitching every now and then, and he looked miserable.

Annalese help onto his face with her hands and leaned her forehead down onto his. "Severus, sweetheart, it's okay. I'm here for you. I'm sorry that happened, so sorry. But, it's okay now."

Severus was silent as he listened to her, glad that he had someone to make him feel better. She stroked his cheek with her thumb and closed her eyes.

They stood like that for at least a minute, before Severus pulled away. He wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his coat and looked at Annalese. The green fabric on her shoulder was stained darker from his tears, the fabric of the dress looked expensive, and he was afraid that he might have ruined it.

"Annalese, your dress. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" Severus said sadly as he looked at his shoes.

Annalese glanced down at her dress, then noticed that he was talking about her shoulder. Severus looked up at her, and she smiled warmly at him.

"It's okay. It'd rather my whole dress be stained with ink, than have you upset about something." She said smiling at him.

Severus blushed slightly and grinned. He nodded and fidgeted with his hands. Annalese stepped forward to give him another hug. He accepted gratefully. He liked having someone to hold onto him, it was a new feeling. He nosed Annalese's neck and could feel her shiver. He smiled, _sensitive neck, I'll have to remember that._

Annalese pulled away from him and smiled. Severus straightened and looked down at her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and said to him quietly, "Severus, would you like to dance?"

Taken back by the request, he furrowed his brow. "There isn't any music though…"

Annalese shrugged and nodded her head to the side. Immediately, Severus could hear the sound of a woman's voice, singing a slow sultry song.

The girl in his arms grinned up at him happily. Severus smirked down at her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer to him. The couple danced quietly, watching one another. Severus marveled at the fact that someone so beautiful, was willing to be this close to him. Annalese rested her head on his chest and inhaled deeply.

"You smell good." She told him appraisingly.

Smiling, Severus responded with, "You don't smell half bad yourself."

He could feel Annalese laugh a little against him. She turned her face towards him, happiness etched into her features. Severus lifted a hand from her waist and set it against the side of her face. Her smile widened and she closed her eyes.

Enjoying this new feeling, Severus leaned forward and hesitated before kissing her lightly. Annalese caught her breath at the feather light touch of his lips on hers.

Annalese leaned harder against him, pushing him gently to the wall. Severus gripped her waist tighter and rested his free hand against the nape of her neck. Annalese was entwining her fingers into his hair and he almost purred into her mouth.

The two kissed each other for few minutes in this way. Both loving the feel of the other, and both extremely happy. After a moment they stopped and looked at one another, trying to catch their breath. They were still holding onto each other tightly and still looking at each other. Severus looked into Annalese's eyes and noticed they were a shade darker than normal. This called to his prmitive side, and he immediately grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her into another kiss.

Severus lifted her slightly from the ground and switched positions with her. Now, her back was to the wall and Severus was pining her against it. Annalese moaned deeply into his mouth and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue past her lips to find her own tongue.

The two combated softly, tongues dueling. Annalese grabbed onto Severus's lower lip with her teeth and sucked on it gently. Severus growled in response and picked her up off the floor. He lifted her so that she was on eye level with him and he kissed her more roughly. Annalese felt odd, with her legs dangling in the air, but, there wasn't anything she could do about it.

She grinned as Severus ran his tongue along the back of her teeth and the roof of her mouth. Severus kissed her once more on the lips before setting her back down onto her feet.

Annalese looked up at him, confused, before she noticed the strained look of his pants. She looked back up into Severus's eyes and grinned wickedly.

Severus squinted an eye at her, not sure what she was getting at. Annalese leaned against him and rubbed a hand against his crotch. Severus caught his breath at the sensation, he'd never felt this before. Well, he'd never felt any of this before, but this was different. This was a more primal feeling, and he loved it. He closed his eyes as Annalese stood on her toes to nip at his neck. Severus grabbed her shoulders quickly and looked deeply into her eyes. Annalese looked at him confused.

"Anna, we can't do this here. Not in the hall." Severus said, not even realizing he hadn't called her by her full name.

Annalese paused and thought, then she nodded at him. "Yeah, you're right. I-I got kinda… carried away."

Severus grinned down at her, "Yeah, kinda."

Annalese rolled her eyes at him playfully. "So… Do you want to go back down to the ball, or maybe… Something else?"

Severus thought about this. _Fuck that ball, I don't need to have anyone see me there again. I'd only be called Snivellus, or something worse. Something else might be fun. _Severus thought for almost a minute, the whole time Annalese only looked at him, patiently. Severus grinned at her finally.

"Okay, I've got something." He said happily.

Annalese looked at him expectantly. When he didn't explain any further, she asked, "Well? What is it?"

He only grinned at her and grabbed her hand. He led her to a side door that led out of the castle. He transfigured their clothes into more winter friendly garments and smiled at Annalese. She had a blue and black scarf now wrapped around her neck and a matching hat on her head.

He kissed her nose, "You look adorable. Now come on."

"But, where are we going?" She asked as she followed him in the cold air.

"You'll see, just come on." Snape said, quickening his pace.

Annalese followed him, deeper into the cold night air. Large snowflakes were falling slowly from the sky and she marveled at that. She didn't really like that cold, but she like how snow looked.

After another minute, Severus stopped. They were beside the lake next to a tree. Annalese looked from side to side. She looked up at Severus with a skeptical expression on her face. He only smiled down at her.

"Just wait. Follow me." Severus turned to his right and started climbing the rocks that were there. Annalese watched him go and rolled her eyes. She followed after him, being very careful of her footing.

Once they were a few feet in the air, Severus turned down a narrow channel between the rocks. Annalese looked at him nervously, she wasn't a big fan of heights, and this was making her scared.

She followed him slowly. The farther she walked, the higher the rocks around her got and the wider the path got. She saw Severus a little ahead of her, looking at something.

Carefully, she came up behind him and looked past her shoulder. Her jaw dropped. Severus turned and smiled at her, he stepped to the side and sat down. Annalese stayed where she was, looking at what was ahead of her.

The lake was spread out before them. The moon reflecting off the water. Nothing looked special about it, except for that fact that the lake was glowing. Inside the glassy surface of the water, tiny lights were blinking on and off. Yellow and blue, they winked at her from under the water. She saw a pink one occasionally mixed in with blue or yellows. Annalese looked at Severus and then back at the lake. It was beautiful. It was like the lake had taken the stars from the sky and changed their colors.

"Severus… what are they?" She asked him, still standing.

"They're called Aqualux's. It means 'water light'. No one else seems to know they're here. You can't see them during the day. And you can only see them from a high place." Severus explained.

"They're gorgeous," Annalese said, "how did you find out about them?"

Severus smiled. I come up here a lot. I came up here once, thinking I would kill myself." Annalese took a short gasp. "That was the first time I saw them. And I couldn't do it. That, and I didn't think I was high enough up." Severus said with a smile.

Annalese sat down next to him. "Wow. This is amazing." She leaned against him. Her head resting on his shoulder. Severus smiled and turned to put an arm around her.

"Thank you, Sev." She said quietly.

"You're welcome, Anna." He responded.

--

_I never thought about how random it was that I did that. We went from making out to looking at some lights in the lake. All in the span of less than an hour. I was so much more trusting back then. I was able to be happy, and let someone into my life. Oh Anna, I miss you._ Severus in his musings, had almost walked past the Headmaster's door and now stopped himself quickly.

_Time for the fun part, _he thought disgusted.

Severus said the password and went up to see Albus, who wasn't to happy to hear what he had to say.

Severus left the Headmaster's office an hour and a half later. Sighing wearily, he walked back to his rooms. _This sucks…_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not mine, buzz off.

Author's Notes: Aalright. Soo, yeah. We'll see how this goes. Sorry, I haven't been updating as much. I've been a little bummed out recently. Anyway, 7th chapter, wahoo. I'm pumped. But, I'm still winging it, and I'm not sure how this will turn out.

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Chap. 7

The next morning Hermione noticed that both Dumbledore and Ron were gone from breakfast. _This isn't good,_ she thought. _Not good at all._

Beside her, Harry was musing about possibilities for Ron being with Albus.

Hermione was trying to ignore him as best as she could. What she really wanted to know was what was going on with Snape. She stole a glance at him. He was turned and talking with Minerva. He didn't look very pleased about it though. Hermione smiled into her glass of pumpkin juice in order to hide it.

Turning back to her friends, she again tuned into what Harry was talking about. Minutes later, Ron came in. He did not look very happy at all. He took a seat next to Harry and as far away from Hermione as possible. Immediately all conversation dropped and everyone turned to look at him. This only served to fluster him more and his ears turned red.

He tucked into his breakfast quickly, not making eye contact with anyone. Knowing something wasn't right, Harry turned to his best friend and asked quietly, "Hey, what's up?"

Ron muttered noncommittally and continued to shove food into his face.

"Ron, hey, what happened?" Harry asked of him, looking around.

"Shove off." Ron said angrily.

Hermione rolled her eyes. _Such a fucking child._ She looked back up to the staff table and noticed Snape's eyes on her. He looked concerned for only a moment, and then he was back into his normal cold expression. But, Hermione had seen the look in his eyes, and she knew that he was worried for her. _Cruel bastard, my foot. He's nothing but a big softy._

The rest of breakfast followed with Hermione staring wistfully at one of the tall windows in the room and Harry pumping Ron for information. Ron was still adamant about not telling him anything.

The bell for classes rang and everyone reluctantly gathered their things. It was Friday at least. Thank the gods.

Hermione was almost out the door when Harry caught up with her. "'Mione, hey, slow down."

Hermione made a disgusted look at nothing and paused. Harry and Ron caught up with her and the trio walked slowly to class. Ron was still staying as for from her as possible.

In an effort to calm the tensions between the two, Harry said, "So, hey. What's with you two? You've been all frowny-faced this morning."

Ron grumbled and Hermione shrugged her shoulders. Harry, trying not to give up said, "Well, I'm personally excited for the rest of the day. We've got potions, who doesn't love potions?!"

Ron's mood seemed to darken at that and Harry grimaced. Hermione, on the other hand, smiled a little.

"Well, I know I love potions anyway." Hermione said, nudging Harry in the arm.

Harry smiled and put an arm around her, "There's my girl."

Ron hung his head lower and frowned.

Upon entering the classroom, the three took note of Snape's frown. It was much more intense than usual. Not good.

They took their seats, and waited for the rest of the class to file in. Hermione turned to look at Ron and Harry as some Slytherins came into the room. Ron refused to meet her gaze, and Harry only shrugged his shoulders at her.

Feeling eyes on the back of head, Hermione turned to find Draco Malfoy staring at her. When she caught his eye, he smiled wickedly and turned around and said something that made the other Slytherins laugh.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at them. _What could they be saying? Likely something about how I'm a Mudblood._ _Bastards._

Hermione looked to the front of the room and again noticed Snape looking at her. He held no expression in his eyes, but he nodded only just. She smirked a little and looked down at her textbook.

The entire class period, Snape was brutally hard on Ron and Harry's potion, making them both nervous, so they screwed it up even more. His criticisms were decidedly absent from Hermione and Neville's potion, however. Hermione rolled her eyes mentally._ Men are such fickle creatures. One day they're all over your case, the next they love you._ Hermione almost tipped over their cauldron when she thought that. _That wasn't what I meant. Jesus, what's wrong with me?_

Hermione tried to focus her mind harder for the rest of the class period. But, every time Snape walked by her, he somehow managed to brush against her. And it was such a feather light touch that she wasn't sure it had even been there at all. Taking a calming breath, she instructed Neville on something he wasn't doing right.

The bell finally rang, and the class packed up their things and their potions and headed for the door. Hermione was in an odd mood. She was feeling sensitive, and didn't really want to talk to anyone. She really just wanted to spend some more alone time with Snape. She shook her head a little to clear it._ That's crazy talk Hermione, now shut up and go to your next class._

She walked beside Harry and Ron once again, and laughed with Harry about Snape. Her heart wasn't in it obviously, but, Harry was too into his story to notice this.

The rest of the day passed slowly, with Harry trying to act as if nothing were wrong, and Ron acting like a little emo bitch. Hermione sighed for like the 300th time that day.

She was sitting in the common room, trying to write a paper for DADA. But, her mind kept wandering back to Severus and how he'd just barely touched her all day. She laid her head back against the couch she was sitting on and closed her eyes.

"Problem, 'Mione?" Harry asked her, concerned.

"Naw, just tired, but thanks for asking." Hermione said.

Harry nodded. "Me too, maybe you should go to bed. We have plenty of time to work on this paper. You look like you need the rest."

Hermione sat up and looked at him, "Wow, thanks Harry."

"Oh, 'Mione. You know I didn't mean it like that." Harry said defensively.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just messin' with ya. I'm going to bed then, night." And with that, she quickly grabbed her things and went upstairs to the girls dormitory.

_Gods, maybe they can talk about Ron's feelings or something. Fucking ridiculous. I get my nose broken, and he acts like the one who's been wronged. Stupid red-headed men._

Hermione tossed her things into a corner and lay down on her bed. _I've been doing this a lot recently. It's like I'm pining or something. I'm so dumb. Why would I ever think that a relationship between Snape and I would be a good idea? He's a teacher, and I'm a student. Besides, why would I like him anyway? He's all old and gross. Even thought he does have a nice voice, and nice hands… No! No, that's a bad Hermione. He's old and gross, and it will stay that. Okay? Okay._

Hermione tossed off her outer cloak and curled into a ball. She tucked her pillow under her head and rubbed a hand over her eyes. _I need to date someone, or something. This Snape thing is getting ridiculous. I should just pick a boy, and date him for a while. I'll get over Snape soon enough. And since Ron is being a big dickweed, I won't be dating him. So… who will it be?_

Hermione fell asleep in her clothes, trying to think of someone to date.

Severus watched Hermione work on her potion out of the corner of his eye. He'd been easy on her today, and he hoped she hadn't noticed it. On the other hand, he'd been very difficult on Potter and Weasley, and he hoped that Weasley did notice it.

He also made sure to touch her just barely every time he passed her. He tried not to make it obvious, he didn't want her to realize he was doing it. But, from the small smile on her lips each time he did it, he figured she knew what was going on.

At the end of the class period, he watched Hermione go sadly. He didn't want to see her go. He just wanted to watch her work on her potion all day._ Oh stop that, you creepy, creepy old man. She's young enough to be your daughter. Ah, but she isn't. _Another part of his brain answered._ You, shut the fuck up._

Severus looked at the clock on the wall, and pursed his lips. He had a long evening of grading papers and thinking to do tonight. _I hate thinking sometimes._

Severus had noticed that when Ron had come into the Great Hall this morning he looked very flustered. This pleased him immensely. It meant that Albus hadn't been to easy on him. _Good, little bastard needed it._ He also noticed that Hermione did not seem at all interested in what anyone was talking about. She was looking out the window with a small smile spread across her face. _She was so cute when she did that._

Severus could feel his eye twitch. _I have to stop doing that, I really do._

With that thought, he prepared for his next class with a scowl. He was going to be pissed off for the rest of the day. And he knew that no one was going to like him today. But, when did they ever?

Severus shuffled some papers on his desk and waited for the end of the day to arrive.

Hermione snuggled closer to her pillow. It was Saturday, but that didn't mean that she wanted to get up.

Normally, she was a morning person, not wanting to waste any of the day. But, today, she just wanted to lay around. She felt kinda gross, because she hadn't changed clothes last night. So, she sluggishly got out of bed and went to the shower.

After about an hour of letting hot water run onto her head, Hermione finally stepped out of the shower and turned the water off. Wrapping a towel around herself and another around her hair, she stepped out into the dormitory. She walked over to her bed to grab some clothes.

Debating in her head, she finally decided on her Muggle clothes and grabbed undergarments, skinny jeans, and a black T-shirt. She transfigured a curtain around her bed, and turned to look at herself in her large floor-length mirror. She turned this way and that.

After a minute, she found her reflection satisfactory and shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, there isn't much I can do about it I guess."

She cast a quick drying charm on it, and pursed her lips as her hair poofed into a halo around her head. "Nice." She said aloud.

She sighed and decided to just put it into braids today. After tying her hair into two simple braids, Hermione studied her features. _I wonder what would happen if I wore makeup today? Maybe I could attract that boyfriend I've been looking for._ Hermione chewed on her bottom lip for a moment thinking.

"Ah, what the hell?" She said offhand. After rummaging around in her suitcase, she found the makeup kit her mom had bought her last year. She'd only used it a couple of times. She set the thing in front of her, and opened it as she sat cross-legged on the floor.

_Now, what do I do? _She pulled out some foundation and discarded that. It made her skin feel clumpy. She gabbed some green eye shadow and her mascara. After thinking a minute, she also grabbed her gold eye shadow.

_Now, if I'm just really careful, maybe I can…_ Hermione sat there for the next half hour. Trying to make the eye shadow work on her face. After a while, she leaned back and looked at herself carefully. She wrinkled her nose and smiled.

"I like it!" She exclaimed. Getting up, she grabbed some pink socks and pulled those on. She looked down at her shoes. _Plaid converse it is, _she thought happily.

She stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She grinned. _Who's that hot momma? Oh yeah, that's me. _She giggled, and transfigured her curtain away. There wasn't anyone awake in the dormitory. Everyone was either asleep, or outside enjoying the autumn weather.

Hermione sauntered down the stairs, not sure of what she was going to do today.

Harry greeted her as he saw her go down the stairs. "'Mione, hey. You ready for Hogsmeade today?"

Hermione resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead. _Der, I freakin' forgot._

"Yeah, I don't know if I want to go today. I'm not really feeling it." She said offhand.

Harry pouted at her. "But, Ron isn't going either. Pretty please?"

"Harry, I really don't feel like it today. Sorry, why not hang out with Cho?" Hermione suggested hopefully.

Harry smiled innocently at her. "Well, ya see… That's my problem."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "What are you on about, Potter?"

Harry smiled at her. "Well, um, I kind of told Cho that you'd go on a double date with us." At the shocked look from Hermione, Harry tried to recover himself. "Oh, Hermione, please! She wouldn't go unless we did a double date. And I was hoping that you'd come, pretty please, with a cherry on top?"

"What the hell, Harry? Who am I supposed to go with?" Hermione said, surprised by her best friend.

"Well, Cho said she had a date picked out for you and everything." Harry said, unable to look her in the eye.

_Well, that's convenient, didn't you want a boyfriend?_ _Oh, shut up, you._ "Ah, Harry, why did you wait 'til now to tell me?"

"Well, you were busy with Snape and stuff, and then yesterday you seemed so distant. I just… oh please Hermione, help me, it's my hour of need." Harry said, hands folded, on his knees.

"Oh Harry, fine. Just get the fuck up. But, I want you to know, I'm not happy about this." She said, arms crossed.

Harry got up and kissed her cheek. "Thank you so much. We're supposed to meet them in an hour and a half. I'll meet you outside the school, 'kay?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as he didn't wait for a response. He went off whistling out the portrait hole. _Selfish boy_, she thought.

_Well, what the hell am I supposed to do?_

Deciding on going to breakfast, she exited through the portrait hole and made her way to the Great Hall. _Oh, maybe Snape will be there. Gah! No, bad girl. Down, down._

Desperately hoping Snape would be eating downstairs, but trying to convince herself she didn't care, Hermione walked through the doors into the Great Hall. And to her pleasure, Snape was sitting in his usual chair, talking to Dumbledore. _Yes,_ she said mentally._ But, I still don't care._

Hermione sat and grabbed some cheese that sitting on a tray in the middle of the table._ I wuv you cheese,_ she thought.

Hermione began eating quickly, looking up at Snape as often as she could. She thought she was being discreet about it, but before she realized it he was watching her once again.

_Well fuck,_ she thought._ Well, maybe this is good. Perhaps, we could talk or something._ Hermione flinched mentally. _I'm stupid, smartest witch my ass._

After another minute of kicking herself in the teeth for being dumb. Hermione realized that someone was standing behind her. She turned slowly and looked straight into the eyes of her potions professor.

She merely looked at him, not sure what to do.

Severus only stared at her. _She's wearing makeup, and she's gorgeous today._ "Miss Granger, may I speak with you in my office when you are done eating?"

Hermione nodded lamely, still surprised.

He nodded to her and walked off briskly. As he did so, she heard his robes make a 'foosh' noise. She grinned broadly.One thing that she and her friends back home always agreed on, was that a man was truly sexy unless he had a coat that went 'foosh'. How ridiculous that Severus Snape had robes that did that. _Well, I guess that means he's truly sexy._ She almost laughed out loud at that. _Oh, gods. I crack my shit up._

Hermione finished her meal quickly and made her way to Snape's office.

_What am I doing? Why did I ask her to come see me? I'm so fucked right now. I keep screwing myself over. What am I going to ask her when she gets here? Nice shoes, wanna fuck? _Snape rolled his eyes.

"Gods…" he murmured to the ceiling.

_I was just going to ask if she was alright, but then I got a truly good look at her. And she was just so gorgeous. And I had to spend more time with her. Alone. And now, now I'm going to have my teaching license taken away, and, and… Just chill. Just ask her if she's alright. And then send her on her way. Just don't do anything with her. Just stay away from her. Well, that's easier said than done I suppose. _

Snape continued on with his thoughts until he heard a knock on the door. "Enter!" He said quickly.

A very bouncy Hermione came into his office and smiled at him. He looked at her sternly and offered her a seat. She took it, but continued to beam at him._ Oh gods, make her stop._

"Miss Granger, I was wondering how you were doing?" He asked, steepling his fingers.

Hermione glanced towards the ceiling and chewed on her cheek for a moment. "I'm fine, sir. Thank you for asking."

Severus sat forward in his chair, "Miss Granger, are you sure? I mean, I realize that something like this can really take a toll on someone. Your best friend knocked you out, are you sure that you're okay?"

Hermione sighed softly and sat back in the chair. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, yesterday was really weird. But, my mind was preoccupied, so I didn't really have to think about it. And I haven't seen him today, so… yeah. I don't know."

Snape nodded his head. "I'm sorry that had to happen. But, I had to inform Alb- er, the Headmaster. And I can only hope that appropriate measures were taken. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Hermione smiled at him sweetly, "Thank you sir. Who would of thought that you were so capable of compassion?"

Severus looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Who indeed?"

Hermione smiled at him again. She was fiddling with her hands, and he knew that something else was bothering her. _But fuck, I'm worried about her as much as I hate to admit it. I just don't want to seem to concerned. I am… the greasy bat of the dungeons after all._

"Sir? Is something wrong?" Hermione asked him. _Damn her, she beat me to the punch._

"Not at all, Miss Granger. And it wouldn't be any of your business anyway." Snape said in his usual cold way.

Hermione almost rolled her eyes, almost. "Of course, sir. I didn't meant to be rude."

Snape nodded and stood. "Thank you for coming in Miss Granger. I didn't meant to take you from whatever you were doing."

"Oh, not at all Professor. There isn't anything I'd like more than to come and see you." Hermione said. _Fuck, why did I just say that?_

_Was she being serious? No, she must have been joking. She was being sarcastic, I'm sure. But damn, that sounded convincing._

"As much as I appreciate your sarcastic humor, Miss Granger. You may leave now." Snape said, almost offended.

_Well, shit, what do I do now? _Hermione stood and walked towards the doorway where Snape was standing.

"I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't trying to be rude…" Hermione stopped and looked at the man in front of her closely. _He smells fantastic! What is that, that's amazing._ Without realizing it, Hermione was leaning closer to him, trying to better discern what the smell was.

Severus looked at her with narrowed eyes._ Dear Merlin, what is she doing?_

Hermione looked up at him, with a small grin.

"Miss Granger, what are you doi-" Severus's last word was cut off by Hermione's mouth blocking off his air.

He tried to push her away at first, but when she intensified the kiss by licking his lower lip, he was gone. He held her roughly against him, and kissed her hard. She smiled against his mouth, and entwined her fingers into his hair.

Between kisses, Severus managed to get out, "We- shouldn't… be doing- this…"

Hermione kissed him more roughly, before saying, "I know."

Severus rubbed the back of her neck and she shivered in his arms. He growled at her in satisfaction and nuzzled her neck. Hermione inhaled sharply as he nipped the crook of her neck lightly.

Hermione ran her hands through his hair and enjoyed the sensation of him against her skin._ This is so wrong. But, it feels so amazing._

_Why does she taste so good?_ Severus thought._ I shouldn't be doing this, but I can't stop. I haven't kissed anyone in so long. And she's so beautiful._

Severus kissed Hermione on the mouth again. She grinned against his kiss, and he stopped to look at her. Her eyes were darkened with lust and her breathing was hitched. _I did that too her. She kissed me willingly, and now I did that to her._ Severus smirked wickedly, before kissing her again.

"Mm, Professor." Hermione said pleased.

Snape stopped again at this. _She didn't really call me that. Oh Merlin! What am I doing? She's my student!_

Severus let go of Hermione as if she were diseased and took a step back. Hermione almost fell to the floor without him supporting her.

She looked at him confused, "Sir?"

"You… we shouldn't of done that. You, I'm sorry. We shouldn't be doing this. You could be expelled, and I could lose my job. We, you… You're my student, I keep taking advantage of you. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I don't deserve forgiveness. I never did. Now, go, I'm sorry again. I need to practice some self control."

Severus stepped a few paces farther back and looked down at his boots, ashamed.

Hermione was confused. Very, very confused. _Why did he stop? Oh… fuck! Did I call him Professor?! How fucking creepy must that of been for him. Crap, I'm so dumb. Now, he's looking at me like I have Chlamydia. Crap, and double crap. How can I salvage this? Oh, nice. I can't._

"I didn't mean to- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out." Hermione tried to explain.

"Just get out, Miss Granger. This will be my last lapse in judgment. I promise you that." Snape still couldn't look her in the eye.

Hermione frowned. "This is fucking ridiculous, you know that. You can't just make out with me a few times and then be like oops, my bad! If I didn't want to kiss you, I wouldn't have." Unable to come up with a proper ending, Hermione simply said, "So there!"

And with that, she stormed huffily out of his office.

_What am I doing? This is going to be a horrid year. A very bad year indeed. I need something to drink. _And with that, Snape walked into his private rooms and got out his fire whiskey. "Hello darling, I missed you." He said lovingly to it.

And he proceeded to drink himself into a stupor for the rest of the night.

Hermione huffed and puffed her way down the hall. _Where does he get off doing that to me. This is so not fair. He can't just kiss me and then take it back. You can't take back a kiss! Men are all alike. Stupid arrogant, old man. I can't believe him._

Hermione was so caught up in her own fumings that she didn't even notice that Harry was beside her and trying to get her attention.

"'Mione? 'Mione? Hey, calm down!" Harry said as he raced to catch up with her.

Hermione whipped around and said angrily, "What do you want?"

Harry took a step back at her hostile tone. "Oh, um… I was just gonna let you know, that it's almost time to go."

Hermione looked at him, jaw clenched. "Fine, let's go."

Harry looked at her uncertainly. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Hermine said through clenched teeth, "let's just go, now!"

Harry nodded quickly and led the way to the doors out of the school. Hermione followed, her fists clenched tightly.

_Just calm down Hermione, calm down. You're going on a date in a bit. Just chill. A date with a nice boy, who's your age and won't be a total wanker. Deep breaths, deep breaths._

Hermione followed Harry down the path to Hogsmeade and tried to control her anger. Harry was stealing nervous glances at her the whole time they walked. Finally, she turned and stared him straight in the face.

"What?" She snapped at him.

"Nothing. Nothing." He said, looking away quickly.

Hermione continued walking, trying to ease the tension in her fists.

"It's just that you look so pissed." Harry said beside her.

"Well, maybe I am pissed?" She threw back at him.

Harry shrugged quickly. Best to talk about this later. What was with his friends lately? They were acting all bonkers.

Harry stopped outside of the building where they were supposed to meet Cho and Hermione's blind date.

"'Mione, please. Calm down, if this guy sees you like this, he'll run for the hills." Harry said, trying to be funny.

Hermione looked at him, still angry. _Damnit, he's right. I need to calm down._ Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She unclenched her fists and took another breath.

After a moment, Harry looked at her closely, "Better?"

"Much." Hermione said flatly.

"Good. Now, good luck with your guy." Harry said as he pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Hermione asked lamely from outside. Muttering darkly, she walked into the building and followed Harry to where Cho and Hermione's date were sitting.

Harry kissed Cho on the cheek and took the seat beside her. Hermione couldn't see the boy sitting across from Cho, because his back was to her.

Nervously, she rounded the corner, and glanced down at the boy.

Mentally, she sighed in relief.

_It's just some boy from Ravenclaw, thank Merlin. _Hermione smiled, and sat down next to the blonde beside her.

"Hi," He said, "I'm Reymund Nouveau." He extended a hand to her and she took it, smiling.

"I'm Hermione Granger."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Author's Notes: Man, some of this stuff is taking me forever. Sorry, it's takin' me so long. I had to read the new Harry Potter book. I loved it. But I will never, EVER accept Hermione's choice in partner, EVER!! Now, here we go!

Oh yeah! Uh, mild rape scene thing ahead, you were warned!

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Chap. 8

Snape slumped back into his chair with a heavy sigh. _What in the world is wrong with me? I shouldn't be acting like this. I'm acting like a hormonal teenager. I know how to keep it in my pants, I've had plenty of practice._

Severus rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers. "I'm so fucked." He said to himself quietly.

What if Dumbledore found out? He'd be fired in a heartbeat._ Why is this happening to me? Why can't I be the sleazy bat of the dungeons anymore? Dear Merlin, help me. I've turned into a pedophile._

Severus leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. _What am I going to do now? Teaching is going to be hell with her in class. And despite all this, all I want to do is kiss her again. I'm going to that Muggle hell, I'm sure of it._

Severus stood and walked into his private rooms. He was going to do his lesson plan today, but now, now he was just going to drink himself into a stupor and go to bed. Severus went to his alcohol cabinet and grabbed his fire whiskey. _I do so love running from my problems._

Hermione grinned broadly. _Oh my god, this guy is awesome! And he's so cute. _Hermione leaned closer to Reymund, to better listen to what he was saying.

"No, I totally agree. I don't understand how anyone could possibly think that Wolfsbane would work as a hallucinogenic drug. I mean, it's a poison!" Hermione said.

"I know, right! It's so dumb, a friend of mine decided that it would be a good idea to try it, and of course he ended up vomiting for the next three days." Reymund mentioned.

"Oh man, that's ridiculous!" Hermione said.

Harry and Cho looked at one another with raised eyebrows. Cho shrugged and Harry furrowed his brow.

_What in the world? Why is Hermione acting like this? She shouldn't be talking like that. But, I guess she looks happy. That's an improvement, I guess. _Harry scooted closer to Cho and she grinned happily. _Ah, that's better._ Harry's happy musings were interrupted by a loud laugh from Hermione. _Oh dear Merlin, what the hell?_

The rest of their lunch was spent with Harry and Cho trying to ignore how loud Hermione and Reymund were being.

Afterwards, Harry kissed Cho quickly and grabbed Hermione as she was saying goodbye to Reymund.

"So yeah, it was nice to meet you and I'll see you in the- ooh!" Hermione was saying as Harry grabbed her arm.

"Harry!"

"Come on, 'Mione." Harry said fiercely.

"But, I wasn't done saying goodbye!" She waved to Reymund quickly and he raised a hand in reply.

"Just come on." Harry said with a scowl.

After they had reached a safe distance away, with much protesting from Hermione, Harry stopped.

"Now, what the hell was that all about?" Hermione demanded, hands on her hips.

"Hermione, what the hell is wrong with you?" Harry demanded just as fiercely.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. You weren't yourself at lunch. Not at all." Harry told her.

"What are you talking about, Harry? I was fine, I was just enjoying being on a date with someone interesting." Hermione tried to explain.

"Why were you being so loud? And you weren't talking like yourself. You were acting like one of those spoiled little brats, you know the kind. The ones who are like, 'oh, me? Hehehehe, like oh Merlin, hehehehe.'" Harry said in a high-pitched woman's voice.

Hermione looked at him disgusted, "I was not acting like that! Excuse me for trying to have fun. I'm sorry that you're jealous!"

"Jealous! Hermione, please. I'm trying to look out for you. I don't want you to change for some boy." Harry attempted to save the situation.

"Harry, just shut the hell up! You're being… you're being an asshole. I'm sick of it. Come talk to me when you've grown up!" Hermione said as she balled her fists and stormed off.

"Hermione, wait!" Harry yelled after her.

Hermione ignored him and picked up her pace.

Harry started to walk after her, but as he watched her retreating back, he stopped. _Fuck it, she's being weird. Maybe she'll get over it if I just leave her alone._

_  
_And with that, Harry turned and walked in the other direction.

That same time, found Severus laying down, passed out on his couch. He'd made sure to drink enough that he wouldn't be awake for quite a few more hours. And the whole time, all he could do was think about Hermione, and how much he missed working with her.

Hermione slammed the door to the small pub she had walked into. A few of the patrons looked up and raised eyebrows at her. She ignored them and they did the same to her. She sat down at a booth by herself in the corner. Part of the booth was hidden in the shadows and that's where Hermione sat, it seemed to fit her mood.

She looked around the room and noticed the rough look of the patrons. _Wow, I picked a winner._ Hermione sat back in the seat and looked up at the ceiling, which had a large hole in it. She frowned at the hole, but looked away from it. _This was a bad day from the start. That middle part was pretty nice though. _She smiled at the memory of spending time with Reymund. _He was nice, I liked him._

"Hello miss." A voice with a thick accent said to her.

Hermione looked in the direction of the voice and noticed a man of about forty looking at her with a grin.

"This isn't a place for pretty young girls to be alone." The man said with a twinkle in his eye. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. He smiled back at her, his front two teeth were missing. That accent, where was he from?

"I can handle myself, thank you." Hermione said shortly.

"Is that not what all pretty young girls think?" The man asked her, his grin turning more wicked.

"I'm fine, leave me alone please." Hermione said, hoping the man would leave of his own accord.

He looked at her, somewhat crestfallen. "It is as you wish, miss." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked out the building.

Hermione watched him go with disdain. _Perverted old man. Ick._ Hermione looked around her suspiciously. No one seemed to have noticed the exchange, and if they had, they didn't seem to care. She settled herself back into the seat. This was probably not the best place to come into. But, she was still in Hogsmeade, so she should be okay. _And if not, then I am an exceptional witch. I'll be alright. Half of what I need is confidence, right?_

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. _I need to calm down. I've been so razzed up lately. I'm not sure why I've been taking out all my anger on poor Harry though. Stupid Snape, being all stupid. No no, Hermione. It's okay now, you've got Reymund. You have options! Bwaha, I don't need that old man anymore. I can date people my own age._

Hermione chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. _I should get out of this creepy place and apologize to Harry. Fuck Ron though, he's a stupid bastard. _

Resolved, Hermiones stood and walked slowly to the exit. Trying not the make eye contact with anyone, she pushed open the door and looked around. She frowned a little, trying to decide where to go.

She turned to her left and began walking. After she got a short distance from the building, she noticed the distinct lack of people around. _That's weird, maybe I went in the wrong direction…_

Hermione turned on her heel and went to walk in the other direction. Before her eyes caught up wit her she had run into a very solid object. Staggering backward, she grabbed her head and looked in front of her. About to apologize to whomever it was she had hit.

"I'm so-" She said before she realized who it was. The man from the bar. The man without the front teeth.

"Hello miss." He said with his accent. And before Hermione had time to react, his wand was pointed at her and he was muttering something under his breath.

Hermione's eyes widened as her vision turned fuzzy at the edges. _Oh shit!_ She thought before she passed out completely.

The man missing the teeth grinned wickedly and stroked his forearm, pleased with himself. The inked snake wiggled and the skull leered at him as he rubbed one of its eye sockets.

Six hours later, Severus awoke to a pounding on his door. He immediately grabbed his head and slammed his eyes shut again.

"Severus! Severus, open the door, we need your help!" Came a loud female voice.

Severus growled low in his throat.In his mind all he could think was, _ow, ow, ow. _"What do you want!?"

"Severus Snape, open this door right now!" Came the female voice again.

Severus stumbled to his feet and walked slowly to the door. His shoulder caught the edge of a bookcase and he cursed loudly. He reached his door and threw it open. "What do you want?" He demanded angrily.

Minerva McGonagall was standing just past the door, looking very agitated. She pushed past him into his room, followed by Remus Lupin, and Albus Dumbledore.

Severus was flabbergasted, how they dare they just barge into his room!

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked angrily. They three newcomers exchanged nervous glances as Severus walked to a cabinet and got himself a potion for his headache.

Minerva stepped forward with the information first. "Severus, we have a bit of a situation. Today, in Hogsmeade… Today, was the Hogsmeade trip for the students, as you know. And-" She looked back to Dumbledore, unsure of herself for once.

Albus stood and stepped towards Severus, who was looking at him with a very angry expression. "Hermione Granger did not return with the rest of the students. And we have reason to believe that she was kidnapped by a Deatheater."

Severus's jaw dropped. Whatever he'd been expecting, that wasn't it. He snapped his mouth shut quickly. Albus looked at him levelly.

"What… What makes you think that it was a Deatheater? Maybe she just ran off with a boy or something?" Severus said, trying to come up with a more acceptable answer. He was frantically running through scenarios in his head. _Oh no, oh no, what am I going to do?_

"The thought had crossed our minds. But, we know that she isn't involved with anyone. And Remus has just gotten back from looking around for her." Albus tried to explain. Severus looked at Lupin and scowled. _Stupid werewolf._

"He tells us that her scent disappeared along with that of a man. The man that had been near her in a bar. And many of the patrons said they say her talking with him. And the conversation wasn't exactly friendly. And after much… persuading, two of these people told us that they say the man stroking a tattoo of a snake and skull on his forearm."

Severus looked at Albus with a frown. "Well, aren't you guys just like Sherlock fucking Holmes?" The three people in front of him looked at him confused. They must not know a lot of Muggle detectives.

"Severus, we need your help. If Hermione was really taken by a Deatheater, there's no telling what's happening to her. We need you to help us get her back." Ablus was saying to him, but he wasn't really listening.

_Deatheater. A Deatheater took her. Voldemort! What am I going to do? They've taken Hermione, my Hermione. What are they doing to her? _Severus could feel another headache coming on, one that the potion in his cabinet couldn't fix.

"What do you need me to do?" Severus asked quietly.

"You are Lord Voldemort's most trusted man, are you not?" Albus asked of him.

Severus nodded shortly.

"Then, he will no doubt call you soon, to inform you of… well, of what happened?"

"Yes," Severus said quietly, "yes, he should."

"I don't like the idea of waiting, but, I'm afraid it's our only option at the moment. If he does not summon you tonight, we will come up with something else." Albus said with a sigh.

"What?" Remus asked. "No, no, we can't just leave her there until Voldemort decides to let Snape in on what's happened. No, we have to do something. They could be torturing her, Albus!"

Dumbledore held up a hand. "I am well aware of this, Remus. But there isn't much that we can do at the moment." Albus paused to collect his thoughts. As he was about to begin a new sentence a short gasp stopped him.

All attention turned to Severus who was gripping his arm and his left eye was twitching. "Looks like we don't have to worry." Minerva said.

Severus sighed heavily and went to retrieve his robes and mask. _Fuck, what am I going to do about this? I can't openly oppose Voldemort. But, I have to save Hermione, I have to. It doesn't matter if he punishes me for carelessness. I mean, if she were locked up, I could pretend to have been overpowered by her. But, I don't know what's going on. I can't make plans when I don't know anything. Fuck, fuck, fuck. How could that stupid girl of gotten herself captured, she knows better then that!_

Severus returned to the group of people in his sitting room, dressed in his Deatheater robes and holding his mask. "I will return as soon as I can, with Hermione."

And with that, he stalked from the room and went storming through the corridors as quickly as he could. Albus was about to say something before he walked off, but he hadn't cared. All he wanted to do was find Hermione. He reached the Apparation point and was gone as quickly as he could go.

Hermione opened her eyes carefully. She had awoken a little bit earlier, but she was waiting to take in her surroundings. She hadn't heard anything for a while, and she opened her eyes only just.

Wherever she was, it was dark. And the walls had a greenish cast to them. The ceiling was low and only a single candle burned in a sconce in the wall. She couldn't hear anything and what she could see wasn't very encouraging. _Fucking shit…_ She thought.

She opened her eyes wider and raised her head slightly. Almost immediately an object came hurtling at her head and she was knocked back onto the ground. Momentarily, knocked out. A voice from a few feet away said angrily, "You get the fuck back down!"

Hermione frowned, but didn't lift her head again. _What in the world? Where am I and what happened?_ Then she remembered the man from the pub. She groaned mentally. _I've been caught by a Deatheater, what if Voldemort is here! Oh no, oh no, what am I going to do. They took my wand. And someone's watching me like a hawk._

She listened more carefully. She could hear him moving around near the opposite wall, prowling. She could feel her skin crawl at the thought of him. She didn't know if it was the man from earlier or some other Deatheater. Either way, they weren't being friendly.

Hermione hadn't practiced wandless magic in a while. She had been proficient at it a few months ago. But, only with simple spells. She had no idea what she could do now, and in a situation like this. She could disarm the man, that is if he was holding his wand. _What can I do to get him to use his wand?_ Hermione moved her leg to the side carefully, she heard the man stop moving and look at her.

"Don't yer move, ya 'ear?" The man said in an angry voice.

Hermione paid no attention and shifted her left arm. "I mean it!" He warned.

Hermione lifted her head and looked at the man.

"CRUCIO!" The man screamed at her, holding his wand aloft.

Hermione screamed in pain and the man grinned in pleasure. She panted heavily. _Good,_ she thought.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Hermione screamed in her fury, the man's wand flew through the air and Hermione caught it with a smirk._ I've still got it,_ she cackled in her head.

The man had flown into the wall he was standing in front of. He slumped to the floor and groaned loudly. Hermione stood carefully, keeping an eye on him. Her head was only inches from the ceiling and she frowned at her surroundings.

The man was starting to stir and Hermione, wordlessly cast a simple stunning spell and the man lay back, unmoving.

Hermione's eyes were accustomed to the dark atmosphere in the room and she looked around easily. She noticed a door to her left and grinned. _This is going to be dangerous. I have no idea what's on the other side of the door. I've got to be extremely careful._

Hermione stopped and listened with her ear pressed against the door. She frowned. Nothing. She cast a listening charm to amplify sounds. Nothing still. She was upset that she didn't have an Extendable Ear to use, but, alas, beggars can't be choosers.

Hermione opened the door to the room quietly. She couldn't believe that the security was so minimal. She frowned as she stepped into the hall leading away from her door. A large fist smashed itself into her face and she fell backward. _Fuck…_ She thought.

Snape looked around his new surroundings. He was outside a small, rather shabby-looking building. He looked around and noticed several other Deatheaters standing around, not sure of where they were.

One of them approached Severus and looked at him coldly. Not wearing a mask, Severus recognized the face of Bellatrix Lestrange. She looked at him with her dark, demented eyes. "Severus, what is going on? The Dark Lord should not have called us at this time, and I can't believe that he was planning something without me."

Severus looked at her coolly. "I know not, Bellatrix. Perhaps, we should wait for the arrival of the Dark Lord himself."

Bellatrix looked at him furiously, though he had not really said anything that offensive. She turned on her heel and stalked off, as far from him as possible. Severus pursed his lips together and took in the area more closely. He knew the reason why Voldemort had called them to this place, and he was trying to decide where the best place to hide a teenage witch would be.

A few moments later, the appearance of Voldemort was marked by a loud crack and moments later, he appeared in all his fearsome glory. The Deatheaters that had been chatting quietly, silenced their voices immediately. They all turned to look at their evil master and they bowed low to the ground. Voldemort enjoyed this, his hideous snake-like face contorted into what must have been a smile.

"Rise, now." He said in a hiss.

All the Deatheaters rose without a word. They looked at him, waiting for him to explain why he had torn them from their lives that night. Voldemort didn't waste any time, and said in his most grand way.

"My dear friends, we tonight have a treat. One of our own had captured a girl. A friend, a friend of Harry Potter!"

A loud cheer went up from the Deatheaters and Voldemort once again silenced them. "Now, my friends, we must all decide what we must do to the friend of Potter's! The filthy Mudblood friend!"

He gestured with his wand to the small shack and immediately a small man exited the house, dragging Hermione behind him by her hair. He rubbed the back of his head as if it had been injured recently. He dragged an unconscious Hermione into the center of the ring of Deatheaters and laid her down in front of Voldemort, who grinned wickedly.

He turned Hermione's face towards him with his foot. Snape resisted the urge to shout out, and instead tried to remain impassive as he looked on.

"Mudblood bitch." Voldemort said, as he kicked the side of her head.

Again, Snape had to contain himself. _How can I get to her like this?_

Voldemort looked around at the faces of his Deatheaters and picked out Snape from the group. He smiled that horrible smile and looked at Severus thoughtfully.

"Severus, she is a student of yours, is she not?"

Severus nodded once, deciding not to speak. Voldemort's grin spread. Then you shall wait to join in on the fun. We wouldn't want to sully your teaching carrer."

A couple of the Deatheaters sniggered and the others smiled. _Oh fuck, _Snape thought._ The fun? What the hell does that mean?_

Voldemort turned to once again look at the faces of his followers. "Who, would like to go first?" He asked.

Immediately, two of the men stepped forward. Snape couldn't think of their names in his terror. _What are they going to do to her?!_

Voldemort looked at the two men and nodded approvingly. "Well enough, you two may proceed. Do what you like, just make sure she remains conscious and keep her alive."

And with that, Voldemort stepped to the side of the center and allowed the two men to approach the young girl. Severus was panicking now. He couldn't allow this to happen. But, what could he do? Just taking her would be suicide. But, these men were going to rape and mutilate her, and the rest of the people there were going to goad them on.

_What, I can't even think of anything! My mind is to busy with everything. There's to much going on! I can't keep my thoughts straight._ Severus was in such a state that he almost wasn't able to keep himself in check. He managed to step back a few paces, so the people around him wouldn't notice his emotions. He was lucky that they were paying attention only to the two men and the teenaged girl in the middle of the circle.

Hermione was still unconscious at least. Thank Merlin. But, as he thought it Voldemort sent a stream of sparks at Hermione and she awoke with a start. She looked around frantically and someone she found him. She looked at him, terror in her eyes, she looked manic. Severus could feel something in him snap.

_I have to do something, now._ Severus looked around, how could he cause a distraction? As he was thinking, one of the men near Hermione spelled her clothes off, and she lay naked in front of the whole group.

Her hands immediately went to cover herself. She looked around, horrified. Severus tightened his jaw. _I have to do something! _He looked around him. There was nothing…

One of the men had placed a hand over Hermione's mouth and was now placing himself over her. He saw Hermione's throat tighten and could tell that she was trying to scream. He looked away, he couldn't watch this happen to her. He had to find a way to stop it. But, what!

He was frantic now. He was edging farther back as he heard a couple of the Deatheaters near him, cheer on the man raping Hermione. She had her eyes closed and tears were falling down her cheeks. Severus was screaming mentally. He couldn't use his wand, that much was sure. Voldemort would detect him instantly. He would have to use a manual method, or something wandless. He could do that, yeah! That was it, wandless magic!

He turned back to the circle and heard someone yell, Crucio! Hermione screamed now. And her scream chilled him to the core. He looked away as she caught his eye once again. He was allowing this to happen to her. He had allowed her to be violently raped and now she was being tortured further.

Severus noticed a tree that he hadn't realized was there before. It was leaning precariously and looked as though it might fall at any moment. Thinking quickly, he cast a silent spell towards the tree and its trunk cracked loudly. The Deatheaters looked around them terrified, all had wands at the ready.

Then the tree fell ontop of the man standing directly under it, crushing him instantly. The rest of the Deatheaters scattered, all terrified. Snape took his chance. He sent more silent spells to the surrounding trees and they also cracked and fell. He could hear the sounds of Disapparating. _Cowards, _he thought.

Severus ran forward quickly and grabbed Hermione, who seemed unconscious. He looked around, no one was paying him any heed, they were still running from the falling trees. Severus concentrated and Apparated himself and Hermione back to Hogwarts.

9 hours later, Hermione was tucked safely away into the Hospital Ward, Harry and Ron sleeping beside her bed in chairs. Dumbledore had had a staff meeting to discuss what had happened and what would be done.

Hermione had stayed unconscious the whole time, to everyone's concern. Severus was now standing in the Hospital Wing, looking at Hermione with an expression of concern.

_Hermione…_He thought sadly. _I'm so sorry._

Hermione was awake. She knew that much, but her eyes wouldn't open. She didn't want them to. She just wanted to stay where she was, it was warmer here.

Everything was black, she couldn't see anything. Her eyes must be closed. She heard Harry and Ron, talking quietly nearby, she recognized their voices. She didn't know what had happened, but she had the distinct impression that it hadn't been pleasant.

She saw a white light at the corner of the room. She didn't know what it was, but as it neared her, she saw it slowly taking shape. The nearer it got, the more distinct it looked.

Hermione heard Harry and Ron stop talking as the sounds of footsteps neared. They seemed to match the movement of the light. The figure had now solidified its lines and she could see that it was a doe. It looked like a Patronus.

"Hermione?" She heard Harry say.

She turned her head slowly to where his voice was coming from and she let out a light moan. She heard the people near her catch their breath, and immediately, she felt two hands upon her arm.

"Hermione! Hermione, are you alright? We were so worried!" She heard Ron say.

She moaned again, and the excitement of the two boys seemed dampened when a third voice spoke. Deep, and silky, she heard the emotion in it. Emotion that she had never noticed was there before. His voice seemed so strained and so infinitely sad. She felt so sorry for him. The voice seemed to come from the doe to Hermione, but she recognized the voice instantly.

Severus said, in his most casual tone, "Calm down, be careful with her. She isn't strong yet, you'll scare her."

"Hermione, Hermione? It's us. Ron and Harry, we were worried about you. Are you okay now?" Harry asked her.

Hermione merely whimpered slightly.

"Hermione, open your eyes, come on, open your eyes." Ron pleaded with her.

Hermione tried to open her eyes, she could feel the muscles moving. But, still, all was black.

"God, Hermione, it's so good to see your eyes. I didn't think I was ever going to see those again." Harry said as he squeezed her hand.

Hermione frowned. _He can see my eyes? But, but, I can't see anything!_ She turned her head towards Severus and frowned at him. She could her Snape's sharp intake of breath. She could feel him bendind down over her. She sensed his breath on her face, breath that wasn't nearly as horrible as she had thought it would be.

"Hermione…" He whispered to her. She was sure that neither Harry, nor Ron could hear him. "Hermione, what do you see right now?"

Hermione worked her jaw slightly. "I… I…" She turned to Harry and Ron and she could imagine their looks of concern. There was nothing there, only black. "Nothing…" She whispered quietly. "There's nothing there."

Ron and Harry frowned, confused. But, Snape sat back and sighed, a deep, heavy sigh.

Hermione turned back to face Severus. There again was the doe. What did it mean? Hermione could feel her lip tremble and she quietly posed the question that had been burning in her head, "Sev…Severus? Am I… Am I blind?"


	9. Chapter 9

-1Disclaimer: Belongs to J.K., you know that!

Author's Notes: Yay, another chapter! Have you guys missed Annalese? I know I have, we'll bring her back for a bit here. Just a bit though. And Hermione's BLIND!? Oh noes!

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Chap. 9

Hermione could hear Harry and Ron intake their breath sharply. But, she wasn't paying attention to them. She was listening to Snape. He knew the answers, she was sure of it. He could fix her.

Snape looked down at the young witch in front of him, looking so pale and frightened. Her body was covered in wounds, some of them still seeping blood. Those were the wounds that Poppy couldn't heal, because they were created by Dark Magic.

Snape looked once more into the eyes of the girl who he couldn't resist earlier. They were glassy, and had a thin film covering them. She certainly looked blind anyway. But, what was he supposed to tell her? The truth, he supposed.

"Yes, Miss Granger. I believe that you are blind." He said, trying to sound calm and matter-of-fact.

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded slowly. He could see silent tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. After a moment, she seemed to regain her composure and asked him something else.

"Professor, what happened to me?"

Snape looked at her, quite shocked. She didn't remember. The poor thing, didn't remember what happened to her. Maybe that was for the better though… But what was he going to tell her?

"Miss Granger, there will be time to discuss these things later. Your health is our top priority at the moment. Rest first, then we'll talk." He said, trying not to sound cruel.

Hermione looked at him defiantly for a moment, but subsided once again as she thought about it.

"Fine. Thank you, sir."

Severus paused in thought. Had she called him Severus a moment ago? He put that out of his mind, whether or not she had called him by his name didn't make any difference now. And where the hell was Poppy!?

At that moment, Poppy Pomfrey exited her office and noticed Snape in the room. She walked over to greet him when she noticed that Hermione had awoken. She scowled at him and immediately she was at the girls side, checking up on her. In between questions to Hermione, she would turn and ask Severus, Harry, and Ron questions. Mostly about why they hadn't told her Hermione was awake.

After 10 minutes of this, Snape was finally able to excuse himself from their company so that he could go back to his rooms. Or to talk to Albus, yes, maybe to talk to Albus.

As he was about to leave, he turned back to look at Hermione once more. She was looking at Poppy, but he knew that she couldn't see her. Hoping, that none of them were paying him any attention, he reached out his hand and gave Hermione's a slight squeeze. He saw her frown a little, but then she returned the squeeze, and he left the room.

Hermione's head turned to watch him go. And with him, the silvery-white doe went as well.

As Snape walked down the hall to Dumbledore's office he began to wrack his brains on what could have happened._ Perhaps, one of the Deatheaters had cast a spell upon her. Something to cause blindness. Those bastards. But, that didn't make any sense. If they were going to rape and torture her, they would have wanted her to see it happening. And, she had looked at him, while some of this was happening. What then, could have happened? And she didn't remember any of it. Yet, anyway. _

He knew a little about psychology, and he knew that people sometimes forgot things that had happened to them. Terrible things that their brains didn't see to fit for them to cope with. The brain was so impressive in that way. Severus marveled at that. He frowned as he ascended a staircase. _Did Hermione forget what happened, because the memory of it was to horrible for her? It would make sense. _Severus thought back to what had happened in that forest clearing. If he ever, ever saw those men again, he would kill them. Deatheater status be damned.

Severus stopped in front of the stone gargoyle, and had to pause in his musings to try and remember what the password was. He rolled his eyes as he remembered.

"Licorice tart." He said curtly. The stone gargoyle leapt to the side and Severus was allowed to enter. He walked quickly to Dumbledore's office and knocked on the door. A pleasant, 'Come in' followed.

Severus walked into the Headmaster's office and found Albus, sitting behind his desk, chewing on some form of Muggle candy and looking at him calmly. Severus quickly took a seat in front of the Headmaster and without waiting for him to offer his candy said:

"Sir, Hermione Granger is awake now. She remembers nothing of what has happened as of yet. And it seems that her vision is gone."

The twinkle left Dumbledore's eye and he looked at Severus gravelly. "Ah…" He said noncommittally. "I see."

He steepled his fingers and closed his eyes, lost in thought. "She doesn't remember anything you say? Perhaps, that is for the best right now. But, you say she's blind? That… That was unexpected."

Severus could only nod his head. He didn't know what was wrong with Hermione, but he had a suspicion.

"Yes sir. I realize, what should we do?"

"Severus, I don't really know. I must say, I'm confounded. All we can do is wait to see how she reacts to everything. Then, we can decide what to do." Albus said, with a heavy sigh.

Severus nodded his head sagely. "Yes, of course, Headmaster. I will take my leave now." And with that, Severus stood and walked out of Dumbledore's office.

_I'm going to have to discreetly find a way to test out my theory. I don't really know what's wrong with Hermione, but I have will sure as hell find out. _Snape continued his musings until he once again reached the Hospital Wing. He frowned. _I didn't mean to come here. I wanted to go to my office._

Sighing, Severus decided to peek in on Hermione, just to make sure she was alright. She was sleeping in her bed, or he guessed she was sleeping. Poppy was back in her office, and Potter and Weasley were no where to be seen. _Good, _he thought.

He walked to Hermione's bedside and looked down at her. She looked better since he'd been here an hour earlier. She had some more color on her cheeks, and she seemed more peaceful. He gave a half-smile, glad that she was alright. He saw her eyelids flutter and open and was happy that she didn't know he was here. He was about to leave quietly, before he heard her say:

"Professor?"

He stopped and turned to look at her. Her eyes still held the film over them, she couldn't have seen him. But she said again:

"Professor, are you there? Professor Snape?"

He turned around with a frown. "Yes, Miss Granger?" He asked her. How odd, maybe she could hear him moving. But, after being a spy for so long, he hoped that his ability to stay quiet was better than that.

Hermione sighed in relief. "Hello sir, I thought it was you." She smiled at him a little.

Snape went to stand next to her bed again. "Miss Granger, how are you feeling now?"

She furrowed her brows and looked at him. "Better, thank you." She said simply.

"Miss Granger, may I ask how you knew that I was here?" Severus asked her, trying not to sound suspicious.

Hermione was silent for almost a minute. Finally, she turned toward Severus and looked at him seriously with her blind eyes. "I… I don't really know, sir. I can just… see you, kind of…"

Snape was even more interested now. She could see him somehow. Intriguing. "What do you mean kind of?

"Well, it's odd. And I didn't even want to bring it up with anyone. But, the last two times you've been here, I see a silvery-white light. And that's how I knew it was you." She thought it best not to mention that the silvery-white light was a doe.

Snape looked at her, studying her face. She seemed sincere. But, how strange. But, if she were telling the truth, then his theory was proving to be more and more plausible by the moment. He opened his mouth to speak, but decided it was better to keep silent for a moment longer.

"Does that sound ridiculous, sir?" Hermione asked, clearly embarrassed.

Severus merely stared at her face, unsure of how to answer. "Well, it does sound odd. But, no. It does not sound ridiculous."

Her saw Hermione release the breath that she had been holding and almost smiled. "Yes, well, it is good to see that you are feeling alright. You still don't remember what happened?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, sir. I'm sorry to say that I don't."

"Very well, you will inform us, the moment you remember something, right?" Severus asked, giving her a stern look that she couldn't see.

"Yes, sir." She said almost meekly.

Severus nodded, but remembered that she couldn't see him, and coughed slightly. "Right, well, good night, Miss Granger."

"Night, Professor." Hermione called after his retreating back.

As he disappeared out of the doors to the hospital, so did the only thing Hermione could see in the darkness. She was proud of herself for not freaking out about the fact that she was blind now. She was more level-headed than that. But, what could she do? _I wasn't expecting this to be permanent for some reason. Maybe I was really hoping that it wouldn't be. It's just so freakin' odd to adjust to. I can't even go to the bathroom without someone's help, that's embarrassing. Humiliating, really. _

Hermione shifted the pillows behind her head. She wished Snape would come back. It was calming to talk to him, for some reason. Maybe it was just the presence of that doe. Whatever it was, she just wanted him back.

Severus walked back to his own rooms, quickly. Frowning and rubbing his head occasionally he worked out what he thought may be wrong with Hermione. _I can only really think of something like this being true once before and that was with an extraordinary young witch with brown hair._ Severus closed the doors to his rooms and lay on his couch, lost in thought.

--

It was Christmas time and snow was falling to the ground softly in front of Severus's eyes. He smiled slightly as the sun caught some of the flakes and they twinkled merrily. It was a good time of year, Severus always loved the snow. He looked around for his female companion. She had stooped to the ground to look at something and he smiled at her. She was bundled in a blue plaid sweater and had on a large grey scarf. Her bushy hair poked out from under her knitted hat defiantly and her hands were covered in warm leather gloves. She stood holding something small in her hands and looked at him with a smile.

"And what did you find, silly?" Severus asked her with a smirk.

Annalese said nothing but offered her hands towards him. In them was a small rabbit, no bigger than her palms. "Severus, look at him! He's freezing to death out here!"

Severus looked down at the small animal, it was shaking violently and did in fact seem to be freezing to death. "Aw, I wonder why he isn't in his burrow. Stupid animal."

Annalese reacted violently, she cupped her hands over the little rabbit and pulled him to her. "He is not stupid! He's just a baby." She looked at the animal in her hands, she smiled at it softly. Severus could feel his heart clench as he looked at her smile. She was so tender and gently. Annalese nodded to the little creature and placed him carefully under her sweater. He heard her cast a warming charm and instantly the violent shaking under her shirt subsided.

She grinned at her stomach and then at Severus. Severus raised an eyebrow, "And what are you doing with it now?"

"Well, I'm going to keep him silly. He'll die if I leave him out here." She said as she rested her hand over the little bulge under her sweater.

"You can't keep him! He's a wild animal, and besides you can't have him inside of Hogwarts anyway." Severus said, attempting to be logical.

Annalese rolled her eyes, "I love him Severus, just leave it at that. He'll be fine with me, okay?"

Severus cocked an eyebrow at her but shrugged his shoulders, far be it for to get in the way of a girl and her animal. Instead he grabbed her gloved hand with his and pulled her into a kiss.

"You're ridiculous, did you know that?" He asked her.

"I know, and that's why you like me so much." Annalese answered, rubbing her nose with his.

He laughed and hugged her, "Fine, you win. I'm cold now. Let's see about getting your little friend a place inside, 'kay?"

Annalese saluted him and marched them both inside, laughing.

Two weeks it was Christmas day and Severus stood pacing his room. He had opted not to go home because he hated his family and because Annalese had also decided to stay. And now here he was, pacing his room with a small box sitting across from him on his bed. He would stop occasionally to look at it and then put it down to resume pacing.

He had gotten Annalese a Christmas present and he wasn't sure how he was going to give it to her. Or if he even should. They'd become close since they'd been assigned to be lab partners, but were they this close? She was the only girl he truly cared for, really the only person he cared for. Even more than himself, he cared for her. But was this too big of a step?

He sat on his bed and looked at the little box beside him. It was a simple black box covered with intricate black velvet swirls, and on the inside red silk lay cushioning a tiny locket. He frowned at the small silver locket. It was a perfect oval and unbelievably shiny. He looked closer at the design on it. It had similar swirls to the design on the outside of the box, only these were more intricate and much smaller. On the right of it, you could make out the form a tree, nestled deeply into a sea of leaves. He flipped over the small device and looked at the back, two letters had been carved artfully together. An "A" and an "S", twined around each other to the point that you weren't sure where one began and the other ended. It was truly beautiful work, and none to cheap. Severus had spent a small fortune on this little gift. And now he was second guessing himself.

He opened the lid and looked inside at the small picture he had inserted into it. There was a tiny picture of him kissing her on the cheek and her smiling happily inside. He loved that picture, and he knew that she liked it too. He closed the locket and put it back inside its box. He stood and bounced on either foot, a habit he had picked up from Annalese.

Finally, he grabbed the locket and slipped it into his coat pocket. He had agreed to meet Annalese in the Room of Requirement at 8:00, it was now almost 8:05. He was late and he knew that she was going to be irritated. He drew in a deep breath and left his room with resolve. He walked quickly down the halls and reached his destination in a few moments.

He entered and looked around the room. A large fire burned merrily to his left, in front of it was a large red couch. The walls were lined with bookshelves and a large rug lay covering the floor. It looked very cozy and he felt right at home. He smiled happily as he saw Annalese sitting on the couch playing with Cheesecake. Her little white rabbit. She turned her head as he came in and smiled warmly at him. She set the rabbit on the floor and strode over to him.

She was wearing a silky red dress that hit every curve of her body just right. He nuzzled her neck as she wrapped her arms around him. "You're late, Sev."

"I know, I'm sorry." Severus said lamely, "I hoped you wouldn't mind."

Annalese rolled her eyes and kissed his lips before grabbing his hand and pulling him to the couch. They sat together in silence for a while, she nestled under his arm, her head on his chest. He was so happy, so content. This was Heaven, he knew it. He sighed contentedly. Annalese lifted her head and looked at him curiously. He kissed the top of her head and inhaled the fragrance in her hair. Heaven.

After a few more minutes, Annalese bounced up. Startled, Severus looked at her confused. "I have a present for you!" She chirped merrily.

Severus smiled at her. "Oh really, what is it?"

"I can't tell you, duh. You can see for yourself." And with that she rose and walked over to the Christmas tree that hadn't been there when he walked in. It's white lights shone happily in the small room, making the place even more cozy. He grinned a masculine grin as she bent to retrieve his present. She looked over her shoulder and laughed at his smile. She stood and brought the present over to him. She sat across from him and looked at him almost nervously now.

"I hope you like it, if not I can do something else I guess…"

Severus smirked, this girl was always so sure of herself, it was funny to see her antsy for once. "I'm sure I'll love it."

She twisted her hands together nervously as he slowly opened the package. He set the wrapping paper aside and looked at the square canvas in front of him. It was a scene at dusk, with mountains and a lake. And inside the lake tiny lights were winking in and out of existence. It was Hogwart's lake and the little lights were the Aqualuxs. She had painted this! And as he stared at it, the painting got darker and the scene went from dusk to midnight. Still the little lights shone brightly from the crystal clear surface of the lake.

"Anna…" Severus said slowly looking up from his gift.

"You don't like it?!" Annalese said in despair. "I knew it wasn't good enough, I'm sorry, I tried, I guess I'm just not that good, I just thoug-"

Severus had cut her off by kissing her gently. Anna closed her mouth abruptly, looking at him with her bottom lip stuck out. "I love it, baby. Really, I love it. I think it's… wow, just wow. You're amazing." And with that, he kissed her again, longer this time. Annalese smiled deliriously.

"I'll cherish it forever," Severus said setting it on the end table beside him. "But now I have a gift for you."

Annalese clapped her hands together, excited. "Yay!" She exclaimed.

"Now, close your eyes, and hold out your hands."

Annalese complied happily. She held out her hands, palms up, and waited patiently.

_This is it_, Severus thought. He extricated the small box from his coat pocket and looked at it a moment. Then he gently placed it into her waiting palms. "Open your eyes."

Annalese opened her eyes slowly and looked at the little box. She smiled at him and held it closer to her eyes, appreciating the design of the box. Severus held his breath as she lifted the lid and looked inside. He watched her eyes widen and listened to her inhale her breath. _Oh god, oh god, oh god…_

Annalese lifted the small trinket from its case and examined it closely. She turned it over to look at the back and he saw her face warm and she smiled. Severus exhaled, forgetting that he hadn't been breathing. She traced the letters on the back of the locket with her slender finger and closed her eyes happily. Carefully she opened the small locket and looked inside. If her smile could have gotten any bigger it did just then. She stared at the picture inside the locket for a moment before throwing herself onto Severus, kissing his face again and again.

Severus laughed, "I guess you like it then?" He asked as he attempted to hold her still.

"Oh Severus! I love it!" She almost yelled as she continued to kiss his face. Finally, Severus managed to keep her still enough to kiss her lips. She uttered a short, 'mmm..' before returning the kiss. After a few minutes, they paused to catch their breath. Annalese collapsed against him, snuggling his chest happily. Severus wrapped his long arms around her petite frame and hugged her close. Annalese looked up at him warmly.

"Would you put it on for me?" She asked him suddenly.

Severus looked at her, his eyebrows raised. "Of course, my dear." He took the locket from her and waited for her to lift her hair out of the way. A little clumsily he locked the small clasp on chain and settled it around her neck. Annalese sat back and looked at him carefully.

"How does it look?" She asked.

Severus rubbed his nose to hers, "It looks amazing, simply amazing." He conjured a mirror for her and she looked at the necklace on her critically. Finally satisfied and turned to him and grinned ear to ear.

"I love it, thank you so much Sevvy." She said as she cuddled against his chest again.

He laughed at her softly and said simply, "You're welcome."

They lay like that for a long time, both happy and content. Until, some time nearing midnight, Annalese shifted slightly. Severus looked down at the small girl in his arms and couldn't help himself. He was so overcome by his feelings for her that he opened his mouth and uttered three words that he could never take back.

"I love you." He said without thought. As soon as they had escaped his mouth he started to panic. His thoughts were immediately cut off by Annalese who simply cuddled closer to him and said:

"I love you too."

And with that, the two settled down and slept until morning.

--

Severus awoke with a start. He was still on his couch and hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep. He looked around the room, eyes squinted. The fire had gone out in his fire place and the room was deathly cold. It was a little ominous. Severus frowned deeply, casting a quick spell to ignite the fireplace again. Nothing seemed amiss, there was just an odd feeling to the room. Severus glanced at his watch. Well, thank the gods it was the weekend and he didn't have to teach. However, his absence from the breakfast that morning would be noted. Dumbledore would no doubt come to talk to him some time that day.

Just then, a tiny pop signaled the entrance of a house elf into his quarters. The small creature looked around, almost afraid and glanced at Severus cautiously. "Sirs, Madame Pomfrey be wishing to see you in the Medicine Ward, sir."

Severus nodded at the little thing and it disappeared immediately with another little pop. _I hope Hermione's alright…_ And with that, Severus took off down the halls, cloaks billowing around him in a frightening manner. He looked like a bat out of hell. And the closer he got to the Hospital  
Ward, the more his mind became more frantic. _What if something happened? What's happened? I hope she's okay.._

He entered the room at a dignified run and immediately halted. Hermione lay on her hospital bed sleeping quietly. Not a soul was in sight, so he strode over to her quickly and looked at her concerned. Hermione lay unperturbed on her bed snuggled against the pillow soundly. Severus let out a sigh of relief. Glancing around to make sure there wasn't anyone in sight, he lay a hand against her head and stroked her bushy hair. He smiled slightly at the feeling. It was soft despite it's look.

Hermione's eyelids fluttered and his hand immediately shot back to his side and he stood rigid beside her bed.

"Sev…Professor?" Hermione asked sleepily.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" He asked quietly.

"How're you today?" She asked lamely.

_She's in a hospital bed and she's blind and now she's asking ME how I am?! _"I'm fine, Miss Granger. But how are you?"

Hermione shrugged her small shoulders nonchalantly. She gestured around her and Severus got the hint. "Yes… I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, sir. I'll get used to it, I guess." She said simply.

Severus frowned deeply, _poor thing_. There was a long silence between the two and Severus bent down and kissed her forehead quickly. He straightened his back and looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry for you, Hermione. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

"What?" Hermione asked confused.

"Nothing," Severus said quickly.

Just then, Poppy bustled into the room from her office and spied Severus next to Hermione. She hustled over to him and grabbed him by the arm. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she pulled him towards her office.

"I need to talk to you about the Granger girl," she said severely.

"Yes?" Severus asked simply.

"When you brought her in she had severe bruises and lacerations covering all of her body. Also, she had signs of being raped among other things. What happened to her?"

"That's what happened to her. She was raped by one of the Deatheaters and the group of them cut and bruised her. That's it. I couldn't stop them in time," Severus said sadly.

"I see, she still seems to not remember any of it or else she isn't letting on. I fear for her when she does remember though. Poor thing." Poppy said sympathetically.

Severus nodded and looked towards the girl in question. "Yes, it will be a hurdle we will cross when it comes up. Until then all we can do is help her and make sure she's as comfortable as possible."

Poppy nodded her head sadly. "Yes, thank you Severus, if you hadn't been there I shudder to think of what would have happened to the poor thing."

Severus smiled sarcastically, "Sure I was a big help. I still managed to get her raped and beaten up. Fuck this, I'm going back to my rooms, Poppy. Take care of her, please."

"Of course I will Severus, she been asking for you recently. Your presence here seems to comfort her. And whatever is going to make her happy, I'm obligated to give her. Come visit her as often as you can, please." Poppy asked him nervously.

Severus was taken aback by the request. But he nodded in order to leave. He started towards the doors to the Hospital Wing and took one final glance at Hermione. He walked out the doors and straight to his rooms. _Goddammit_, he thought angrily.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine.**

**Author's Notes: Dude, Ron's a d-bag. Enjoy, I'm starting some more plot twists, we'll see how they go. Please do enjoy! Kisses!**

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**Chap. 10**

Hermione looked around her with sightless eyes. There was nothing but blackness, that meant Severus wasn't around. She sighed heavily settling back onto her pillow. She didn't hear Madame Pomfrey anywhere near, and she huffed, irritated.

"I have ta peeeeee!" Hermione whined to herself. Chewing on her lip, she decided to try moving around by herself. Tentatively she got up and steadied herself on the edge of the bed. "Okay, so this isn't so bad…"

Slowly, Hermione made her way to where she assumed the bathroom was. She felt carefully along the wall and let out a short cry as she banged her knee on a small table. "Damn…" She cursed angrily. She rubbed her bruising knee and felt around her carefully. Hermione took a few more cautious steps and found a doorknob under her fingertips.

Turning the doorknob slowly, Hermione felt along the wall for a light switch. Rolling her eyes at herself, she walked slowly into the room. She let out a sigh of relief as she felt the sink and the mirror above it. "Thank the gods…"

Hermione took her time making sure she knew where everything was in case she needed to come in here again by herself. Just as she was exiting the bathroom she could hear Poppy coming into the Ward, her skirts shuffling around her busily.

A sharp 'Oi!' followed as Pomfrey noticed Hermione out of bed. "My dear, what on earth are you doing!?" She asked, a note of hysteria in her voice.

"I had to use the restroom, and no one was around," Hermione said simply.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I had business to attend to with the head master. I would have been here…" Poppy said, regret in her voice.

Hermione shrugged simply and walked cautiously back towards her bed. Immediately Poppy was at her side, holding her arm in a steady grip. "Miss Granger, you really must be more careful. I can already see a bruise forming on your knee."

Hermione blushed, but didn't say anything. Pomfrey set her gently onto her bed and looked her over. "You seem alright, but next time, wait for someone to assist you. Call a house elf if necessary." Pomfrey said, concerned.

Hermione gave a short nod and waited for the kind witch to leave. Madame Pomfrey sighed good-naturedly at her and excused herself to her office.

Hermione lay back on her bed and frowned angrily. _I'm not a child, I can still take care of myself. She means well, but dammit! I wanna be able to do things on my own… I wish Professor Snape was here…_ Hermione rolled her blind eyes at herself. Of couse, she wants a distant cold teacher to come and comfort her. Wonderful!

But, just as she had the thought, a warm light came into her peripheral vision. She smiled happily as she saw the now almost familiar doe come into her line of sight. She turned her face towards the bright light and her smile widened. "Hello, sir," She almost chirped.

Severus walked into the Hospital Wing cautiously._ I'm just doing this because Poppy said she wanted me to be here. That's it. Heaven knows why she'd want to see me of all people._ He looked around the room, there was Hermione sitting on her bed, looking like she was in a huff. Severus caught himself almost smiling at the look on her face.

As soon as he came into the room, Hermione turned to look at him. She had a large grin on her face as soon as she looked at him. Well, she couldn't see him, he knew that but he was pretty sure she knew he was there.

"Sir?" She asked cautiously.

"Miss Granger, how are you today?" Snape asked in his usual steady tone.

Hermione looked down at her hands and shrugged. "I guess I'm alright, sir. Thank you for asking."

Severus frowned at her, she was lying. "Miss Granger, I asked you an honest question. I expect an honest response." He crossed his arms and looked at her imperiously.

"I'm fine, I just wish that I was able to do things on my own. It's a little embarrassing to have to be babysat this whole time," Hermione said in a huff.

Severus felt bad for the poor girl. Not only had she been raped and beaten, but now she was blind and having to be taken care of like a babe. Snape sighed and loosened his arms. "I'm sure you'll be able to leave here soon, Poppy tells me you're healing well."

Hermione almost laughed, remembering the way Poppy had scolded her earlier. "Yeah, doesn't mean I'm not still going to be babied everywhere I go. It's just irritating. I'm so used to doing everything on my own, and now, I can't even get up to use the restroom without someone freaking out about it."

Severus looked at her, sympathy in his eyes, "It will get better Miss Granger, trust me."

"I do," Came her simple reply.

Two weeks later found a very alert Hermione sitting in her common room with a house elf beside her. She'd been out of the Hospital Ward for a week now, and she was adjusting to life without sight. She had the house elf, Atali by her side at all times, watching her, making sure she didn't hurt herself. Harry and Ron were treating her like a delicate object, to fragile to not be broken. The rest of the school was avoiding her as much as possible. Even Reymund wasn't anywhere to be seen. In fact, he hadn't even come to see her when she was in the Hospital Ward. So much for Mr. Perfect.

Hermione looked around the room with sightless eyes. It was boring being blind, there wasn't anything to do. The weather had cooled significantly, but it was still nice enough to go walking around if you were wearing a coat. Hermione looked around, "Atali?"

"Yes, missus!" Came the squeaky reply.

"Would you get my coat for me, please?" Hermione asked sweetly.

"Of course missus!" A moment later, the little house elf extended a warm coat to Hermione. Hermione smiled in the direction of the little elf.

"Thank you very much," Hermione said as she put the coat on, "how does a walk outside sound to you?"

"Wonderful, missus!" The little elf chirped.

Hermione smiled a little at the small creature. _Poor thing, doesn't get to decide anything for itself. I really wish I could have helped them. _Hermionestood carefully, looking around. Immediately, Ron was at her side. She hadn't even noticed him in the room a moment before.

"Here, 'Mione, I'll help you," Ron said as he showed her towards the door to the common room.

"Ron, really, this isn't necessary, I can handle myself. Really." Hermione said, trying to shake Ron off. But he held her arm in a vice-like grip. "Ron, please…"

Ron ignored her, instead he led her towards the portrait hole and out onto the stairs. The walked in silence the whole way outside, Hermione still trying to shake Ron's arm. Finally, she stopped and Ron was forced to do the same.

"Ron, for crying out loud stop! Just let me walk on my own for once. I'm not a child! I can do this on my own, please," Hermione said in anger.

Ron looked at her, his face turning purple. "Fine, fuck you! So much for me trying to help. Stupid selfish bitch, see if I help you ever again. Why don't you just go find Snape, I'm sure you could still suck him even though you can't see anything!" And with that, Ron stalked off, furious.

Hermione stood in shock. _Wow, that really just happened. I can't believe him! That prick!_ Hermione stood stock still, waiting to her the murmurs of students around her. There was nothing. "Atali?"

"Y-yes ma'am?" The little elf replied.

"Is there anyone around us?" Hermione asked in a whisper.

The little elf shook her head, but noticed that Hermione gave no indication of understanding her, so she said, "No missus."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, _thank the gods._ "How far are we from the door?"

"Just a few feets, ma'am"

Hermione nodded and let the little elf show her which way the door was, but, she managed to walk and get there on her own. Hermione smiled as she pushed the door open and the cool air hit her face. She could feel the sun beaming happily down from the sky, and hear the birds chirping. Well, maybe it wasn't so bad being blind. She had never experienced the world like this. All of her other sense seemed heightened, and she completely forgot the argument she had just had with Ron.

Everything seemed so much sharper to her. True, she couldn't see the colors around her, or see the wind blowing the tops of the trees. But she could feel it. She could feel the wind and she could imagine how the trees moved, and she could imagine the colors of everything. She could smell all of the flowers and the grass. Everything.

Her smile widened, she let out a contented sigh. She pictured what the area looked like when she could see, and slowly she walked over to where she knew there were benches. She had been here hundreds of times and had the layout mostly memorized. After a few moments she banged her knee on the concrete bench that she had been looking for. She let out a short hiss of pain but bent to feel the bench. She sat carefully with Atali next to her. The little elf was standing beside her shifting her feet nervously.

"Atali? You may go do something else if you'd like," Hermione said cheerfully.

"Missus, I been assigned to be watching you…" Atali said in a squeak.

"Atali, I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone for a little bit. You may go help in the kitchens if you like," Hermione said pleasantly.

"Oh missus, they do be needing help in the kitchens, thank you!" And with that, she left with a short pop.

Hermione inhaled deeply. She could smell lilacs somewhere near. She stretched languidly and lifted her face towards the sun. This was her favorite feeling, cool breezes and the warm sun shining on her face. How wonderful. She heard the sound of other students yelling and running around in the distance. The atmosphere was just so happy.

A warm light came into her peripheral vision and her smile deepened. _He's here. How does he always show up when I want him to be near? _Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, Hermione assumed that he didn't know she had noticed him. She finally spoke up with a lilt to her voice, face still turned towards the sun, "My mom used to tell me I reminded her of a sunflower. Because of how much I love the feeling of the sun on my face."

The shape of the light had been slowly changing and now it had more of a humanoid shape. She could sense the shape smiling. She turned her face towards her Potions Professor and smiled at him. "Professor, are you smiling?" She asked coyly.

Immediately, she felt the light tense up. She laughed, a melodic tinkling sound, that was pure joy. "It feels so good out here. I'm enjoying the time I get to myself not in the Hospital Ward. And the weather is perfect out today. Wouldn't you agree?"

There was a long silence, and then a silky voice answered, "Yes, Miss Granger, it is. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm very well, sir. Yourself?" Hermione asked politely.

A short noncommittal humph! Followed. Hermione smiled at that. _Just like him. I wish I could cuddle him. That would be nice._ Hermione shook her head a little.

"Sir, would you care to sit down, you stand around all imposing all the time," Hermione asked with a smile.

A shuffle of his robes as he moved to sir beside Hermione on the bench. Not to close though, in case any one happened by. "I have something for you Miss Granger," he said with a cough.

"Like a present?" Hermione asked, clasping her hands under her chin like a little girl. Silence followed her question and she laughed. "Kidding," she said merrily.

"It isn't quite a present. Just something I thought you may find useful," And with that he lay something across her lap. Hermione looked down, even though she couldn't see what it was. She could sense Snape raising an eyebrow at her.

"Habit," She explained. She picked up the object from across her lap and held it in her hand. It felt almost weightless. She frowned at it. It was long and cylindrical and felt as if it were made of metal. She glanced over at Snape, not sure of what she was holding. There was silence from him.

Snape watched as Hermione inspected her new 'walking stick'. He wasn't sure what to call it, but it was something that he had made for her so she wouldn't have as much trouble getting around. He had made it from a special metal alloy and had cast a charm on it to feel light. He watched her reaction as she assessed what she was holding. Her sight wasn't returning, he was almost sure of that, but she had noticed him smiling earlier. This was proving his earlier theory ever more correct. He was starting to fear the worst now.

He had happened upon her and the Weasley boy in the hall. He had to restrain himself from hexing the stupid prick after he exploded on poor Hermione. He kept his ground and watched to make sure she was going to be okay. When she had walked outside, he couldn't help himself but to follow her. And she seemed to be truly happy. She had smiled at the sun and at the air around her. She loved being outside, he hadn't known that before. And when she spoke to him, it had taken him completely off guard. But, her mother was right, she had seemed like a sunflower in that moment. It was beautiful.

"What is it?" Hermione's confused voice called out to him from his musings.

Severus snapped back to himself and looked at the young witch beside him. She was still feeling the object in her hands, but she hadn't decided what it was.

"It's just something to help you get around better. It's like a walking stick. When you place it on the ground it will mentally let you know how close you are to the things around you. So you don't run into things as often. I can tell from your knees that this will be beneficial for you," He said off-hand.

Hermione rubbed her bruised knees and smiled at him. "Thank you sir, despite how much I want to be independent, I guess I'm just going to have to accept the fact that I can't do everything alone, huh?"

Severus looked at her sadly, he understood what it felt like to lose control over your life. But he said nothing to her and simply looked ahead towards the little village of Hogsmeade. A moment later a little hand was placed on top of his own, and he turned to look at the Granger girl. She was looking at him sympathetically with her blind eyes. He placed his hand on top of hers and patted it gently.

Hermione could feel her breath hitch as he patted her hand. He hadn't pulled away in disgust! She decided to test him now. She cast a silent cloaking charm on the two of them. She felt him tense under her hand and knew that he had noticed what she had done. But, he didn't move.

She scooted closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder, he relaxed after a moment and sat still. His hand on hers, and her head on his shoulder. Hermione sighed contently, this was nice. Warm sun, cool breeze, and a sexy man next to her, what could be better?

After a few moments she turned her head towards him and simply looked at his face, even though she couldn't see anything.

Severus felt the girl place a cloaking charm over the two of them and he tensed._ What is she doing? What is she doing?!_ He decided not to move, to see what she was planning. Besides, he wouldn't admit it, but he really did enjoy holding her hand. She placed her head on his shoulder and his back straightened. _This is wrong. You're a sick old man, what are you doing?_ But after a few moments he ignored the voice in his head and relaxed. She turned her head to look at him, and he followed suit.

"Mm?" He quiered with a noise.

Hermione grinned at him and reached up to plant a kiss on his nose. She sat back down and looked out across the grass in front of them. _Uumm…_ he thought._ So she just kissed me…no that wasn't even a kiss, that was a peck. A peck on the nose! How odd, and so very wrong. But I like it and I don't want to stop her._

"Hermione," Severus started, deciding to use her real name, "I want you to know that things may get harder in the next few months."

"Why is that?" Hermione asked, still chipper.

Severus paused to collect his thoughts for a moment, before saying, "The Minister of Magic may be issuing a new proclamation for those in the wizarding world who don't have magical parents."

"…What kind of proclamation sir?" Hermione asked, an edge to her voice.

"One of the Voldemort's minions has gotten himself a position of power next to the Minister of Magic, and he's slowly been convincing him that those witches and wizards who have been born with Muggle parents are a threat to our society. As such, the Minister has been drafting a proclamation that states that all Muggle born witches and wizards must be put into the charge of a pureblood or put to death," Snape finished with a frown.

Hermione gasped as he finished explaining. "Put to death!? How could he do that? No one in their right minds would agree to something like that. Surely, we haven't come to this yet…"

"I'm afraid we have. Due to Voldemort's increasing power, everyone is becoming more fearful. If Fudge can find himself a scapegoat then tensions will ease. However, I fear for the lives of all those who are Muggle born," Snape said slowly.

Hermione sat in silence for a few moments, allowing this to sink in. "And what do you mean, they must be put under the charge of a pureblood?"

Snape inhaled deeply, "I'm not sure about that part. They may become slaves, they may not. It could be anything at this point. I'm sure if this does come into play Dumbledore will have a talk with you."

Hermione nodded at him. She was still in shock, how could something like this happen? How could the world get to the point that they put people to death according to whether or not their parents could do magic. It was ridiculous. But it was true. Fudge had been looking for a way to pacify everyone these past few months and something like this would definitely do that. It would please the purebloods anyway. And considering how few 'Mudbloods' there were in the world, there wouldn't be enough of a voice to oppose something like this.

Hermione sighed heavily, what was the world coming to?

Beside her, Snape was watching her closely, he could see her thinking deeply. He shook his head sadly, this was not fair for her. She had already been through so much. Before he gave himself time to think, he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

Hermione leaned against him and cuddled herself closer to his arm. "I'm afraid…" She said quietly.

"Don't be, it will be alright. If one thing is certain you have plenty of people here to make sure that nothing bad happens to you," Severus said, trying to pacify her. "But for now Miss Granger, I must be leaving. I have been out here with you for too long already. I apologize for this."

He carefully extricated his arm from her hold and looked down at her. She met his gaze, sadly. He dissolved her cloaking charm around them silently. "That will be the last time something like that happens, Miss Granger. I was only trying to make you feel better." And with that, he walked off.

Hermione looked after him, his more defined shape exiting into the darkness. She was so confused, he could be so compassionate and then so… cold. For no reason, it was so odd. She gripped her cane tightly, feeling it's cool metallic surface. At least he had given this to her. That was nice of him. And what of this proclamation that was supposedly in the works? This was going to be a bad winter.

With that, Hermione carefully made her way into the doors again. Testing her new cane carefully, she noticed that when she put the end of it on the ground, she could almost picture the layout of the floor around her. She managed to maneuver around a pile of rocks and get herself safely inside. She smiled, proud of herself. _Yay me!_

Carefully, she traversed the halls and up the stairs to her common room. She still managed to get herself lost, because the stairs moved and she didn't know where they were going. But, she refused to call Atali to her side, she could handle this. Just as she stated the password to the fat lady, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She eeped in surprise and almost dropped her cane. The hand pulled her into the common room and she could smell Harry's cologne as she carefully pulled her onto a couch.

"'Mione! Where have you been, we've been worried!" Harry said looking her over closely.

"I'm fine Harry, really. I just went outside to get some fresh air," Hermione tried to explain.

"By yourself!? What if you'd gotten lost? Or you had fallen or something? You could have gotten really hurt, in case you've forgotten, you're blind!" Harry said gesturing wildly.

"Oh thanks, I forgot…" Hermione said dryly.

"Oh come on Hermione, you know I'm just worried about you. We both were!" Harry said exasperated.

Hermione frowned at him, thinking. "Who's we, Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes at her, "Ron and I, of course!"

Hermione wrinkled her lip in disgust. "Oh really, Ron was worried? Is he in here?"

Harry looked around and gestured for Ron to come over. "Yes, 'Mione, he's right here. We were both so worried, you've been gone for hours."

Hermione heard feet approaching and looked in the direction they were coming from. The sound of feet stopped beside her and she stood.

"See, 'Mione, he's here. Come on Ron, say something to her."

There was silence and Hermione tapped her cane on the ground. Immediately, she got the basic placement of everything, even the red-haired boy standing to her left. She turned and guessing where she was aiming, swing her fist. She heard a sickening crunch as her knuckles found flesh. A moment later, a loud Ow! Rang out through the room.

Hermione smiled. Oh she was good.

"You hit me in the fucking eye you dumb bitch! What the FUCK!?" Ron said. Well, Ron had in fact said something to her alright. Hermione smiled.

Harry was in shock and stood completely still. His mouth was hung open like a fish out of water and his eyes had bugged out of his head.

Just then, Hermione felt a fist crash into her face. Stars exploded in the darkness around her. A moment after, another fist caught her in the side of the head._ Oh come on…_ Was all she could think. That's when Harry came to and grabbed Ron's arms. He was pummeling Hermione with a vengeance and sickly purple bruises and red gashes were already appearing on her body. Finally, Harry was able to restrain Ron long enough for Hermione to crawl out of the way. Ron pulled away from Harry and ran up to the boys dormitory without a backward glance.

Harry looked down at Hermione, his eyes huge. "'Mione? 'Mione, are you… are you okay?"

"You were right…"Hermione wheezed between breaths, "…he was really… worried about me…"

"'Mione, let's go to the Hospital Wing, come on. Madame Pomfrey can fix you all up. Come on." And with that, Harry picked up the wheezing Hermione and carried her out of the portrait hole. Hermione was holding her cane, white-knuckled. Having trouble breathing, she was taking unsteady breaths. Ron had caught her in the throat and she had heard her esophagus crunch.

Harry was almost jogging with her in the halls to the Hospital Ward. Hermione could feel her eye swelling shut, not that it mattered, she couldn't see anyway. Harry threw open the doors to the Ward and ran towards Poppy who was coming out of her office.

"Oh dear!" She exclaimed and spelled Hermione from Harry. She placed Hermione gently on a bed and immediately began to look over her, and ask Harry questions. Moments later, Snape burst into the room, robes swirling around him in a flurry, a look from hell on his face.

"What's going on!" He boomed. And Harry cringed at the sound of his voice.

He stormed over to where Hermione lay and took a step back as he saw her appearance. His scowl deepened, he turned his attention towards Harry and the boy cowered into his chair. "What happened to her?" Snape asked him in a whisper dripping acid.

"…R-Ron.. She and Ron… They got into a fight. She hit him and then he hit her… a lot." Harry said nervously.

Immediately, Snape stopped what he was doing and stood completely still. Harry looked at him confused. Hermione could make him out as a fuzzy light and Poppy ignored him all together.

Seconds later, Dumbledore strode into the room, the twinkle from his eyes gone. "What's happened?" He asked in a no nonsense tone.

Severus pointed to Harry and pulled the boys chair out to face Dumbledore. He then took up Harry's now unoccupied spot next to Hermione's bed. His features changed and now he looked at her terrified.

"Poppy is she going to be alright?" He asked nervously.

Madame Pomfrey looked at him with a raised eyebrow at his tone. "Yes, she will be fine, just some scrapes. She's been through worse, you and I both know that. It'll take some time for her to heal though, poor thing will have to spend even more time in here. Though if what Potter says is true, I'm afraid Mr. Weasley will be in for some trouble."

Snape looked at Hermione and then at Poppy, he snarled his reply to her, "You're goddamn right he is!"

And with that Snape squeezed Hermione's hand in support and stormed off in a fury.

"Oh dear, I do hope he doesn't hurt the boy too bad," Poppy said to herself.

Hermione watched her warm light disappear, she could feel his anger and his fear for her. She almost hoped he did hurt Ron. In fact, she hoped he hurt him badly. She coughed slightly and could feel a warm sticky substance coat her fingers. _Oh gods, I'm coughing blood…_ Hermione tried to listen carefully to Dumbledore and Harry talking, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She huffed irritated and lay still so Poppy could continue fixing her. _I get to stay in here more! Joy, fuck my head hurts._

She'd been trying to ignore the pain this whole time, but after her initial shock it was starting to get to her. She sighed in pain and tried to ignore it and think of how the sun had felt this morning.


	11. Chapter 11

-1Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine.

Author's Notes: I don't really like this one as much, but it's necessary so we can get to the action! Huzzah, stay with me here!

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Chap. 11

Snape was almost running down the hallway. He had cast a simple locater spell to find the Weasley boy and was now rampaging towards him. His mind was lost to a blind fury, he saw nothing but his hands around Ron's throat.

His mind kept replaying Hermione's battered face and body the night of the Deatheater attack and how she had looked only moments ago. He was furious, he was beyond furious. That boy would pay, he would pay dearly for what he had done to Hermione. Snape made his way to the Gryffindor common room, just as the Fat Lady asked for the password, her portrait exploded open with Snape's blind fury.

The woman in the picture squealed in surprise and outrage, but Snape had no mind for her. He continued on with his silent path, ripples of energy preceding him up the stairs. The door to the boys dormitory burst open behind him, Severus found a very terrified Ron Weasley cowering under his covers.

Severus walked over to the boy and threw the covers off of him. Ron squeaked in fear and Severus sneered at the expression on his face. He reached down and picked Ron up by his throat, lifting the boy so that he was eye to eye with him.

"You better pray that something divine keeps me from breaking your pathetic neck you little worm," Snape snarled into the young boy's face. Ron recoiled from the man in his black robes.

"Yes, turn away like the fucking coward you are! Is that why you stoop to the level of abusing women?" Snape had now forced the boy against the wall and was pushing the boys throat further against it.

Ron started coughing at this point, he couldn't help it, the pressure against his esophagus was just to much. Snape rolled his eyes at the boy, "Pathetic!" he spat at Ron.

Snape turned to walk out of the dormitory with the boys throat still clenched in his hand. Ron was kicking his feet and clawing at Snape's hand but, he ignored it. Dumbledore would be upset with him if he snapped the boys neck, but that didn't mean he had to guide the boy gently down to the Hospital Ward. And so they carried on that way. Snape dragging the boy by his throat and Ron desperately trying to get away.

Severus threw the doors open and threw Ron across the floor and to the Headmasters feet. Dumbledore looked down and then at Severus, disapproval in his eyes. "Severus, really… That wasn't necessary."

"Like hell it wasn't," Severus growled. "Be thankful that I didn't break his neck."

Dumbledore looked down at Ron with a frown, the boy was scrambling across the floor desperately trying to get away from Snape. "Come my boy, get up," Dumbledore said, face grim.

Ron coughed in reply and looked around himself with nervous eyes. He was still scooting across the floor, away from Severus. Severus curled his lip in disgust at the Weasley boys fear.

Severus decided to go check on Hermione instead of looking at the idiot on the floor. Dumbledore would deal with him, Hermione was his real concern now. He stood beside her bed and looked over her, concern written plain on his face. Madame Pomfrey was finishing her work on her, and looked over her with a weary expression.

"She'll be fine, Severus, no need to worry. She can sleep most of this off," Poppy said reassuringly to Snape.

"For his sake," Snape jerked his head in Ron's direction, "she better."

Poppy sighed wearily and left the girl under Severus's close watch. She walked over to speak with Dumbledore, who had Ron in a chair on the far side of the room. Severus looked towards them for a moment, before turning his attention back to Hermione.

Her breathing was slow and steady and he assumed she was asleep. He smiled at her prone form, sleeping so soundly. He brushed a bit of hair from her face and her breathing hitched a little. He pulled his hand back quickly. Her eyelashes fluttered and she looked at him with her sightless eyes.

"Professor? What's going on?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Your… friend, Weasley, beat the shit out of you and now you're in the Hospital Ward," Snape answered matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I remember that, am I all bruised?" She quiered.

"No, Poppy fixed you up. You look great. I can't say the same for Weasley though. Dumbledore looks like he's giving him a hard time."

"Good," Hermione said flatly.

Snape cocked an eyebrow at that. _Apparently loyalty only went so far. Huh_.

"I had a nightmare…" Hermione said, a slight frown gracing her features.

"Oh yes? What happened in it?" Snape asked interested.

"I can't remember all of it, but I do remember people in those mask things the Deatheaters wear, and someone had like…hit me and I blacked out. And the brought me into the center of this ring of people and I-I think you were there, I'm not sure though. I woke up after that though," Hermione stated hesitantly.

Snape could feel his chest tighten with each word she had said. She was remembering, but she thought they were just nightmares. _Shit balls, this isn't going to end well. How could it though? I wish I could spare her this pain. She should be talking to someone who's trained in dealing with situations like this, not a nasty old man who can't keep his hands to himself._ Snape frowned, thinking deeply.

"Sir? What's the matter, you're upset," Hermione asked of him in a caring tone.

"Nothing, Miss Granger, try and make yourself better, rest. Don't worry about me." And with that, he walked away from her and towards Dumbledore. Poppy had excused herself into her office, and she had taken Harry with her. He had been unusually quiet this whole time. He hadn't even made a noise when he had thrown Ron onto the floor.

A week later, Hermione was sitting in class, listening to her Charms professor lecture. She had been given a notes quill by someone or other, she couldn't remember who. She was upset that she couldn't write the notes herself, but at least the were being written down. After her parents had been informed of what had happened, they wanted to remove her from Hogwarts immediately. She had managed to convince them that this was the best place for her. Surrounded by people who cared about her, and who could come up with a way to help her and maybe get rid of her blindness. They had reluctantly agreed, they had told her that since she was mostly an adult she could make her own decisions now. They weren't happy about it though. Not happy at all.

Hermione coughed slightly, clearing an itch from her throat. Classes were strange, she knew everyone was staring at her, even if she couldn't see them. Ron had been suspended indefinitely and everyone in Gryffindor whispered behind her back. Some had even spoken plainly about her when she was in the same room. Forgetting that she was blind, not deaf.

Severus had been checking on her daily, making sure he remained a safe distance from her at all times. Dumbledore and Pomfrey had also been checking on her often. She was fine, she assured them, just adjusting. Harry was acting stand-offish. He wasn't sure what to make of what had happened. His best friend was gone, but his best friend had also beaten the hell out of his other best friend. He didn't want to take sides and even if he did, he didn't know which one to choose.

The class was dismissed moments later and Hermione waited for everyone to file out so she wouldn't have to fight the crowd. She grabbed her cane and made her way to her next class. She ran into someone every once in a while, and they got upset until they realized it was her and then they apologized profusely and backed away.

It was getting easier to move around and she was more accustomed to doing things without the use of her eyes. She did miss it though, she missed it immensely. And she had been having reoccurring nightmares. The one from the Hospital Ward, about the Deatheaters, was becoming more and more vivid every night. She was dreading falling asleep at night, but eventually, she passed out from exhaustion and sure enough there was the dream with its creepy foreboding atmosphere.

She sat through the rest of her classes in the manner she did every day now. She was the first one in and the last one out. She didn't bother stopping in the halls and chatting with people, so she was always first into the class. That suited her fine, because she was normally the first into class anyway.

At the end of the day she decided to skip her evening meal in the Great Hall. Too many people, it was too loud. Her ears were becoming more sensitive and she despised listening to all of the inane conversations going on around her.

So, she took her meal in her dormitory on her bed. She had Atali bring her food from the kitchens on a little tray. This was how most of her evenings ended. Some of her house mates made attempts to be polite and talk to her. But, they always had that edge to their voice, like they really just wanted to go do something else, but they were to polite to say so.

Hermione got irritated with them. She did enjoy when Severus came to check on her. They had decent conversations. But, the entire time they talked all she wanted to do was cuddle him and have him tell her she was still pretty even though she couldn't see herself to brush her hair or anything. She wanted him to tell her that it was going to be okay and that he'd find a way to fix her.

But, he never did, he always just asked her if she was doing alright and if she was adjusting okay. At least she got to hear his voice though.

There had also been talk about the Minister's new law that was being proposed. A law that would require all Muggle born witches and wizards to be placed under the supervision of a pureblood witch or wizard. Everyone was speculating what supervision meant. There were a lot of rumors and a lot of gossip as to what was going on. Hermione listened to what she could and every time Severus came to see her, she would ask him about it.

Frankly, it was a scary proposition. She was one of those that would be truly affected by this law. And it terrified her. No one knew whether you'd get to decide who your pureblood was, or if they were chosen for you. Hermione was thirsty for information about it, but no one seemed willing to talk to the blind girl.

Hermione sat on the bed of her room, looking up at the ceiling blindly. "I'm bored…" She said to no one in particular. A moment later, Atali popped into the room with her food tray. Hermione smiled kindly in the direction of the little elf and said thanks. The little elf nodded in reply and popped away.

"I guess she nodded or something," Hermione said as she shrugged her shoulders. She took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of the food hungrily.

Immediately she tucked into the food, hungry from skipping her mid-day meal. And so the weeks progressed in this manner, Hermione becoming more and more alienated from her classmates and growing thinner every hour.

A month later, snow coated the ground and Hermione longed for the feeling of the sun on her face. Winter was so depressing, she never was one to love the snow, it was just to cold. She much preferred fall, it was a better time of year by far.

Hermione had just gotten up from her fitful sleep, she rubbed a hand over her eyes lazily. Just then, Atali popped into the room looking nervous.

"Hm?" Hermione asked wearily.

"Missus, Headmaster would like to be seeing you as soon as possible," The little elf squeaked.

"Mm, what for?" Hermione queried, still drowsy.

"Atali don't know, Missus just supposed to go see Headmaster."

"Mm, okay, thanks Atali," Hermione said nodding in Atali's direction.

"Of course, Missus," And with that, the little elf was gone.

Hermione rolled out of her bed and onto her feet. It was the weekend and she didn't have to worry about classes today. She grabbed her jeans and a T-shirt and tossed them on, she'd shower later, making Dumbledore late probably wasn't the best of ideas; considering how much trouble she'd caused recently.

She ignored her hair, she didn't know what it looked like and she didn't care. She could feel her pants sliding off her hips, so she grabbed a belt from her trunk. She rested a hand on her rib cage and felt the bones protruding there. At times like these she was happy that she couldn't see herself, she must be a mess. She should really eat more, but she just wasn't hungry anymore.

Hermione grabbed her cane and located her shoes, she slipped them on and made her way out of her dormitory. As she walked down the hallways of the school she noticed that very few people were up. Likely, they were all sleeping in, _wish I could have._ She walked down a flight of stairs and tapped her cane thoughtfully.

Finally, she reached the Headmasters office. She couldn't for the life of her remember the password though. She rolled her eyes and started listing off all the Muggle candies she could think of. After five minutes of this the gargoyle blocking the door came to life and leapt to the side, allowing her to enter the stairwell beyond.

Hermione knocked lightly on the door and a gentle, 'Come in!' followed. She opened the door and entered. She took a seat in the chair opposite Dumbledore, and politely refused his offer of candy.

"Hermione," Dumbledore began cheerfully enough, "how have you been feeling recently? You look thin."

"I'm fine, sir. I just haven't been getting enough sleep," Hermione responded simply enough.

"Well, we'll have to see into that. Hermione… I'm afraid I have some bad news," Dumbledore said, an edge to his voice.

Hermione sat silently, waiting for him to continue. _I wonder what it is now?_ She thought._ And when did I become so pessimistic?_

"I'm sure you've heard all of the rumors concerning Fudge and his new proclamation," Dumbledore started. "Well, it seems that he is in fact going to sign this into law. Do you know what the law entails?"

Hermione shook her head, "Not exactly, sir. No one seems to know anything for sure."

"Then this is even worse news for you, my dear," Dumbledore said sadly. "As I'm sure you've heard already, the law decrees that all Muggle-born witches and wizards must either marry or become slave/servant to a pureblood witch or wizard. And in the case that the Muggle-born doesn't have parents, they may be adopted by a pureblood."

Hermione looked at him shocked. She had to marry a pureblood, or become their slave!

Dumbledore gave her a moment to absorb this before telling her the rest of the law. After a moment, the Headmaster continued, "It seems this is to be double-sided. One the marriage side it is to keep the Muggle-born under control so to speak. Fudge is going to blame our problems on the number of Muggle-born witches and wizards in the community. But, he also sees the problems the purebloods are having, what with squibs and stillbirths becoming more prominent among them. So, the outside blood will hopefully, put an end to this."

Hermione's jaw actually dropped at that. She was going to have to marry someone and have children with them!?

"This other part of the law, named the Procreation Act, states that within 2 years of this marriage, the couple will have to prove that they are capable or producing children. If not, the Muggle-born among them will be put to death. I'm so sorry about this Hermione, I wish there was a way for me to get you out of this, but I'm afraid there isn't." Dumbledore said sadly.

Hermione tried to work her mouth, but all that came out was a kind of wheeze. Dumbledore looked at her gravelly. "I understand your shock Miss Granger. You've been through so much recently, and I hate to add another problem to your already large list, but I'm afraid it can't be helped."

Hermione gripped her cane in her lap tightly. She couldn't think of anything to say. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. But, she couldn't get anything to come out.

"Take you time, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said kindly.

Hermione sat there for another few minutes, trying to school her thoughts. Finally, she was able to pull herself together enough to ask the Headmaster, "Whe-When do I have to marry?"

"I'm not sure, Miss Granger. Fudge has yet to sign it, but I believe that you have a week to decide on who you will marry."

"So, so I get to choose who I marry?" Hermione asked, looking up at the Headmaster.

"If you have more than one wizard asking for your hand then yes, you will decide on who you wish to marry." Dumbledore answered carefully.

Hermione sighed, at least she was given that. "How long will it be until Fudge signs this into life?"

"I believe it will be within the week. Although I can't say for sure," the Headmaster replied.

Hermione nodded her head. There wasn't much she could do at this point. It seemed everyone's fears were coming to life with the issue of this law. "Damn…" Hermione said under her breath.

"I know you're upset, Miss Granger, and I'm sorry I can't help you. But, I'm sure I could be of assistance in choosing a good husband for you. I know many, many wizards and I could be of some use," Dumbledore said, trying to be helpful.

"Thank you, sir. If I may, I'd like to return to my rooms, please," she asked quietly.

Dumbledore looked down at his desk sadly, "Of course you may, my dear. If you need anything, anything at all, please let me know."

"I will sir, thank you," Hermione nodded at him and rose.

"Hermione…" Dumbledore started. Hermione turned her blind eyes to the Headmaster. "Hermione, be strong, for all of us."

Hermione nodded simply and exited the room and made her way back to her common room. _A fucking law! A LAW! I can't believe this, this is so stupid. I have to marry someone or be killed. And after that! I have to have a baby, or be killed! Stupid fucking wizards and their stupid fucking laws. FUCK!_ Hermione was so caught up in her own thoughts that as she rounded a corner she ran straight into a very hard object.

"Hermione?" Came a somewhat familiar voice.

"Yes?" She responded simply.

The person with the masculine voice went to help her up. "There you go, right as rain. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't see you," she could feel her mouth tweak at that.

The boy in front of her laughed and soon enough, she was laughing too. "Sorry, it was punny," the boy responded.

Hermione giggled, "Oh, I'm full of them."

The boy chuckled again. "Sorry, I didn't mean for you to fall over. I haven't seen you anywhere recently," the boy said.

"Oh um… I'm sorry, do I know you?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yeah, it's me Reymund. Remember, from the date with Cho?"

Comprehension flashed across Hermione's face, she knew she recognized that voice from somewhere. "Oh yeah, hey! I haven't seen you in forever!" She laughed again at that.

"No, I shouldn't think so. How have you been?" Reymund asked.

"Oh, I'm fine I guess. Busy few months. You?" Hermione said lamely.

"Normal, perfectly normal," Reymund said happily.

Hermione nodded. The two stood in an awkward silence for a moment until Reymund said, "Um, well, I was just on my way to breakfast, would you care to join me?"

"Oh I would, but I'm just so tired, and I was going to go back to bed. Maybe some other time though, I'd really like to," Hermione said trying to save the situation.

Reymund frowned, "Yeah, sure," he responded with a hard edge to his voice. And with that, he stalked off towards the Great Hall. Hermione frowned, that was weird, he acted like he was mad. But she hadn't done anything wrong. How odd.

She shrugged it off and continued on her way to her room and to her bed. She wanted to sleep, she just didn't want to dream. Maybe she could work that out somehow.

Hermione flopped down onto her bed and closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply, the pillow smelled like her shampoo, oh a shower sounded lovely. Maybe she should shower first. She gathered her things quickly and hoped into the shower. She hissed surprised as the cold water hit her on the back. She stood still for a moment, waiting for the water to warm up. Eventually, it did and she relished the warmth against her neck.

Six hours later found a drowsy Hermione waking up again. She stretched languidly on her bed and closed her eyes again. She didn't want to get up, her bed was so comfortable.

"I suppose I don't really have to get up, but I'd feel gross just staying here all day," Hermione muttered to herself.

Drowsily, she sat up. She felt like going outside for a little bit. So she put on her Muggle clothes, a large warm coat, a scarf and some mittens. She tossed on a double pair of socks and her rain boots and set off down the corridors with her cane in hand.

Hermione opened the doors to the outside world and braced herself for the burst of cold air that she was sure would follow. Hermione sighed in relief, _thank the gods it isn't windy out._

She made her way to her cement bench that she was so fond of. She made sure she wasn't going to sit on any snow and cast a simple warming spell on the bench. She sat and was happy to find that the bench was toasty on her bum. She hummed a simple song and tried to pretend that she was somewhere other than her life. She didn't feel like being disturbed, so she set a silent cloaking spell on her immediate area.

She warmed the rest of the bench and lay down upon it. Sometimes the cold was nice, but only sometimes. Hermione was out there for another fifteen minutes before she was a warm light moving towards her. She smiled widely as Snape stepped inside of her concealment charm.

"Miss Granger," Severus said in an emotionless voice.

"Sir, It's good to see you today," Hermione said cheerfully.

"It is nice to see you out and about today, Miss Granger," Severus said to her, still aloof.

Hermione smiled at him, "You haven't come to check on me recently. I missed you."

She could feel him tense at that, but she smiled at him regardless. They stood in silence for a minute, before Hermione stood and looked her Potions Professor in that face. "Sir?"

Severus looked at Hermione not wanting to reply. He only wanted to stare at her, enjoying how beautiful she looked surrounded by snow. He had been having trouble staying away from her these past few weeks, but he had thought it was in both of their better interests for him to stay away. But when he noticed her coming outside, he had to go see her.

And now he looked at her, and all he wanted to do was kiss her. "Hermione?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose and shrugged her shoulders. Severus could feel his heart leap at the sight. He smiled at her only slightly, but she seemed able to sense it, for she said: "Aw, sir. You're getting soft."

He stiffened again and Hermione rolled her eyes. She leaned forward to lay her head against his chest. Severus stood stock still, looking down at her with wide eyes. He wasn't sure what she wanted him to do, he started to protest, but she shook her head against him, signaling him to be silent.

He sighed slightly, ignoring his better judgments and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you alright?" He asked her concerned.

She nodded and inhaled the smell coming from his coats, he smelled like spices, and old books, it was amazing. He stroked her hair gently.

"Severus, I'm really frightened," Hermione said.

"Of what?" He asked her quietly.

"I'm afraid of what's going to happen to me when Fudge signs that law into existence," Hermione explained.

"Don't fret, we'll find a way to protect you," Snape answered her.

She nodded and pulled back from him to look up at his face. He kissed the top of her head. "I promise," he said with meaning.

A silent tear fell down her face and he looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry this is happening to you,' he said sadly.

Hermione attempted to put on her bravest face and said simply, "I'll be stronger for it later I'm sure. You're never given more than you can handle I think."

Severus help her shoulders for a moment, allowing himself to be human for a moment. "Go inside, Miss Granger, it's very cold out here."

Hermione hadn't realized how cold it was until he actually mentioned it, she shivered a little. She let go of her spell over their area and grabbed her cane from off of the bench. She hissed in surprise and let it go quickly. She shook her hand as if stung.

"What happened?" Snape asked concerned.

"It's cold," Hermione said shaking her hand.

Snape almost laughed and went to pick up her cane for her, he cast a warming spell over it and handed it back to her. "Be more careful, next time there may not be someone to pick it up for you."

Hermione nodded her thanks. And with that, he turned and walked away. Hermione looked out towards the sun covering the ground and sighed. Maybe things were looking up, Severus seemed to be nicer. Always a plus.

Hermione turned and made her slow way inside to where it was warm. She had escaped her life long enough, it was time to go back.

Hermione walked inside and waited for the Minister to sign his law into being.

Two weeks later, the law was issued and signed, and Hermione started to receive marriage proposals. She was allowed a week to decide on who to marry. She hadn't told her parents any of this yet, and she was dreading what they would do when she did tell them.


	12. Chapter 12

Snape was looking at the piece of parchment before him with a scowl set on his features. He had just received a letter from Lucius, detailing to him just how the Dark Lord wished for Draco to marry the Granger girl. Voldemort had not been happy with his servants after his little coup in the forest. Nothing was proven, but a couple of the elder Deatheaters had their suspicions regarding what happened that night.

He exhaled a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. He took the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and closed his eyes. Draco could not be allowed to marry this girl. She would immediately be given to his father, and who knew what depraved maniacal thing Lucius would do to her. The man was a deviant, even by the Dark Lord's standards.

The law that was just passed had been edited from it's initial state. The blasted thing now read:

_Marriage Act I_

_All witches and wizards of Muggle descent must do as follows:_

_If the muggle born is between the ages of 17 and 50 and not currently engaged or married, they must marry into a pureblood family, or a family with at least one magical parent._

_If the muggle born is an orphan between the ages of 14 and 17 they must either marry or be adopted into said families. _

_This law will take effect immediately. The shortage of witches and wizards in the community is reaching a crisis point. The law shall assist in us in raising our numbers. All those who fall under the available category will have 6 months to find a suitable partner or parent figure. If, at that time, no such person is found, a Ministry official shall be appointed to assist said person. _

_The couples will have a year after their marriage to show proof that they can bear children. If, after that time, no such proof is given, Ministry officials will be called in to evaluate the possible causes. It is of dire importance that we bring in more magical blood into our community if we are to survive._

Severus was furious about this stupid law. As it stood now, he would have to marry some stupid tart in the next 6 months or be forced into it by some "Ministry official". Both of his parents were dead.. Perhaps he could be adopted. He almost laughedat the look he would get from his fellow coworkers if he were to tell them that he had been adopted. No, he would have to go along with this for now. He was sure that there would be a big to-do about this whole thing. Since the altering of the previous form of the law, it now encompassed more than just people born as Muggles. Now it affected everyone in the wizarding world.

He sighed again. He couldn't believe his horrible luck. His life was going fine, well as fine as could be expected anyway. He didn't mind it. In the past week he had watched as student after student melted down in the hallways or in the Great Hall. The were taking this particularly hard, and no wonder, they were still so young. The morons at the Ministry should know better than to think that this would help them. He could just see a line graph of the instances of suicide in his mind. And the line was going up and up.

Some of the student body seemed unperturbed. Obviously the ones who were already seriously involved in relationships. Classes had been ordered to continue as normal despite the growing emotionality in the school. The number of botched potions had exponentially increased this past week and it was all he could do to keep them from ruining his lab; and killing themselves.

The experimental potion he had been working on with Hermione was almost cured completely and he couldn't wait to see what the effects would be. It was at least something that would take his mind of off everything.

Hermione had received two marriage proposals already. One from an older wizard she had never heard of, and one from… Draco Malfoy. She had thrown them both away. Draco's with a bit more flare than the other one. She couldn't believe her awful luck. The damned Ministry thinking they can meddle like this. She didn't want to be married, she was content learning and being by herself. She had noticed with some trepidation that Ron had again taken an interest in her. He may come from a pureblood family, but if he sent her a proposal she swore she would hex him into next year. Harry seemed unconcerned for the moment. He and Ginny had been getting on quite well. She wasn't sure what had happened with Cho, but one day he just up and forgot about her. She couldn't even remember seeing him without Ginny at his side since. Good for them, she guessed.

She had six months. Six months to decide on what man could possibly ruin her future. That sounded rather feminist of her, but it seemed that it would be true. She at least hoped she would find someone understanding, who would let her continue her studies. She would like to go to a University, she didn't want to stay home and play house.

She sighed heavily and fiddled with her metal cane. Her sight had still not returned and her nightmares had increased in intensity. No one had ever told her what happened the night she had black out and lost her vision. She was furious about it. She wanted to know what had happened, she hated being kept in the dark. She smiled at that thought. She had been left in the dark since then, both figuratively and literally.

Severus had been true to his word and had kept a good distance from her. He even went so far as to ignore her questions in class. It was very aggravating. Especially when she really did have a question about her potion.

She was sitting in her common room staring sightlessly into the fire before her. She could feel its warmth and hear its crackling. If she tried hard enough she could almost see the merry dance of the flames. It was imagined of course, but it was there nonetheless. She was glad she'd never been a vain girl, or this would have ruined her. Despite that, it was still disheartening that she could never see her face, never really know what she looked like. She was assured by Atali every morning that, 'Missus is looking right fine, right fine indeedy.'

She loved that little house elf, but she had no idea if she were lying or not. Classes had been easier recently, she had eased herself back into studying. McGonagall had shown her spell to cast on her fingertips which had allowed her to read. It was a rather fascinating spell, one which she had never heard of before then. The other teachers had also been kind and did their best to help her out. She knew they were just being nice, but she hated feeling like they were pitying her.

She closed her eyes and willed her headache away. This would resolve itself, it had to. There was a reason for everything. She firmly believe that. _But it gets harder and harder to believe when things like this happen. At least I've avoided the Hospital Wing for a few weeks, that's saying something right?_

_When did this all go to hell? I can't tell my parents… Maybe when I find the right person I'll just say I love him so so much and sorry I didn't mention him and oh by the way we're married! That'll go over great, yeah. I wonder what Snape is doing…_

She stretched languidly in front of the fire and allowed the flames to ease the tension in her body. Perhaps she should go pay a visit to the dear Potions Master and ask him kindly for a sleeping potion. She really wanted to get some sleep that night. She mulled that over in her mind for a few minutes and then decided that yes, that was what she wanted to do. Standing resolutely she tapped her cane on the ground and figured out her surroundings. She really should thank him again for this thing. She wouldn't be able to function without it. She attempted to smooth her hair down as she made her way towards the opening to the common room. She hoped he would be in is rooms, and she hoped that he'd be willing to see her too.

Severus was still sitting in the chair in his classroom. A stack of ungraded papers to his left, forgotten for the time being. Sometimes he wondered if it would just be easier to be a Muggle. Or dead. No, he'd tried that more than once, and every time, some 'good Samaritan' had happened upon him. It had really pissed him off. Hermione Granger drifted quite unbidden to his mind. Her blindness still had everyone perplexed. Everyone but him anyway. He had guessed the cause for this sudden onset of such a seemingly odd symptom. But like he had thought before, this wasn't his first time dealing with it.

--

Severus was furious with the rest of the school. Since it had become known that he and Annalese were dating, the insults hadn't stopped. Now they weren't just directed at him either. He was used to them, and so they stopped having a large effect on him. Annalese however, was a very sensitive person. Despite all of her courage, she was a highly emotional girl. And the constant barrage of insults and jokes was taking a toll on her. She had been despondent the past few weeks and despite his encouragement she had remained dejected. It was breaking his heart to see her like this because of him. He cursed himself again for allowing himself to be weak. For allowing her to be with him. If he had remained resolute none of this would have happened, she would have forgotten all about him and gone off to be happy.

Severus had rounded a corner on his way to meet his… girlfriend. That word sounded so odd to him. But she was his and he liked it that way. The sounds of taunting drifted to his ears and he groaned aloud. What now!?

He quickened his pace and stepped outside into the sunny April air. School would be out soon. That was a scary thought. Voices drifted to his alert ears and he frowned.

"…aw, the Bride of Snivellus looks a little upset, wouldn't you say guys?"

A chorus of laughter rang out mockingly. _Will this never end!? I can't believe it, why would anyone feel the need to harm another human being like this?_ Severus broke out into an almost run as the tauntings turned more sinister.

"How's his tiny Slytherin dick? Taste good, hm? Go figure, look at how you're dressed, slut. No wonder he likes you."

He could hear more voices join the first now and it seemed that at least five or six people were making lewd comments to his girlfriend. His Annalese. He happened upon them then, a group of about fifteen. Mostly Gryffindors and a couple Ravenclaws. He noticed that a couple of the girls were in his Transfiguration class. He already knew the men. The '_Marauders_'.

Annalese was against a wall with her hands over her ears and her eyes shut tightly. He was livid. How dare they. How DARE they! He marched up to Sirius, who hadn't noticed him yet, and punched him soundly in the nose. A sickening crunch met his fist and he smiled in satisfaction as the boy fell to ground clutching his face. Blood was pouring down the front of his robes and one of the girls, a Ravenclaw if he remembered correctly, had immediately rushed to his side to check on him. Stupid bitch.

Severus had his wand at the ready and let a low hiss to the remaining standing. They all visibly took a step back. They hadn't ever seen him this upset. Ever. Siruis looked up at him defiantly and said between his fingers, "Yew fuckeeng bass-tard. I'll keel yew!"

Severus lifted a foot and resolutely kicked him in the face. Sirius fell backward onto the grass; knocked unconscious.

"If any of you ever… ever… EVER… do anything like this again. I will kill you. No second thoughts. I will KILL you. Now, fuck off." He said, his voice low and dripping venom. Everyone in the immediate vicinity stared at him in horror and then took off at a run. Sirius was being dragged by James and the blonde Ravenclaw girl. He snorted his disgust and turned worried eyes to Annalese.

"Dove…" He said quietly, reaching out a hand to her. "It's okay, I'm here now." When his touched her shoulder she recoiled in terror, like his palms contained acid. He frowned. Her hands were still over her ears and her eyes were shut tightly. "Anna…" He grabbed her wrists and she jerked from him violently. His grip was firm on her however, and he removed her hands from her ears. "Anna, baby, it's just me. Everyone else is gone."

At that point Annalese opened her tearstained eyes fearfully. The relief on her face when she saw Severus was immeasurable. He smiled at her softly. "Severus… thank the gods, they were being so mean!"

Severus smiled at her. "There you are. It's okay now, they've all gone. You missed it though! I totally nailed Sirius in the face with my boot." And for good measure, he demonstrated just what it had looked like.

Instead of being pleased or even comforted, Anna began to look at him with a growing horror.

Noticing her look, he tried to recover himself, "He isn't dead or anything. I think I just broke his nose…"

Annalese shook her head at him, eyes fearful. Severus frowned at her. "Anna, what's wrong?"

"Severus… I can't hear you… In fact, I can't hear anything…"

"…what?" He asked her shocked.

"I can see your lips moving… but nothing is coming out. Severus I can't hear the birds either, or the wind! What happened?"

The Hospital Ward staff had had a hell of a time figuring out what had happened. They had even gone so far as to send her to St. Mungo's. They couldn't decipher the problem either. They said that nothing was wrong with her ears. Some of the more critical healers had speculated that she was faking it to get attention. Severus had done his research though. He was determined to help her. He had felt like it was his fault that this had even happened to her. As far as he could tell, there wasn't anything magically wrong with her. A month or two later, he had found what he thought might be the cause. He had found in a book of Muggle study. A psychology book. He had read the whole thing front to back and couldn't believe that the wizarding world neglected to teach it. It just showed how ignorant the rest of the world really was.

He had happened upon a chapter called Conversion Disorders: Symptoms and Diagnosis. It was apparently a coping mechanism of some sort. The symptoms affected one part of the body with no apparent physical reason why. He had a sneaking suspicion that Annalese being deaf had a lot to do with people tormenting her and calling her names, rather than it being from a spell or hex. For the next few weeks he had done his best to help her get over it. After a time she had smiled at him and thrown her arms around his neck. She was able to hear again.

--

Severus sighed. The situations were rather similar. And he knew that despite Poppy's knowledge medicinal magic, he very much doubted her knowledge of psychological disorders. He was almost positive that that was why Hermione was blind. However, that didn't explain why she had been able to see him. Even if he was just a glowing light to her. He had a lot on his metaphorical plate right now without adding Hermione Granger's problems to it as well. Even with that though, he knew that he would be spending quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to help her. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, he just did. It was unsettling. He was rather proud of himself however, he hadn't had any run-ins with her recently. He had actually kept to his word. It had also helped that he had stepped seeking her out when she was alone. That had only exacerbated the problem. And now here he was, alone in his dungeon. Just how it should be.

A knock on his door broke him from his reverie. _I should have knocked on wood or something_, he groaned. He frowned but obediently went to open the door. His frown deepened when he noticed just who was darkening his doorstep.

"Miss Granger. What do you want?" He asked coldly.

Hermione looked at her feet self-consciously. She must look a mess, and she shouldn't have come her unannounced and she really shouldn't have com here at all and oh hell… "I wondering if you could help me out…"

Severus waited for her to continue but it seemed she needed some encouragement. "With?"

"Oh.. Um.. Well I needed a potion… I think." She stammered, color rising to her cheeks.

"Really? You've seen fit to diagnose yourself and not only that, but you decided that I was the one to come to rather than to just go to the Hospital Wing. Really Miss Granger, you're blind not stupid."

Hermione bristled at that. He could almost see the hair rise off the back of her neck, so much like a cat. "I'm having nightmares." She said quietly, angrily. "And I haven't stopped having them since I woke up in the damn Hospital Wing with my vision gone."

Severus watched her face carefully. He had been a little harsh. He sighed and stepped away from the doorway to allow her to enter. She walked in unbidden, hackles still raised. Severus snorted at her unpleasantly and she turned to look at him.

The two looked at one another in silence for a time before Hermione broke the silence. "I was hoping that you could give me something so that I could just get some sleep. All I want is to sleep. But every time I close my eyes there's just these horrible visions staring back at me. I've lost my appetite almost completely and all of my friends are feeling alienated. All I do is sit in front of the fire in the common room and stare at it. I can't even see it! I know I must be freaking everyone in the House out. I'm walking around looking like a ghost. I certainly don't know what I look like, but I can see as shit feel my ribs under my skin and my pelvis jutting from under my skin. I must look like the walking dead. I just want sleep, please. Please, just help me get some rest." Hermione concluded her rant with a fine mist of tears at the corners of her eyes.

Severus looked at the woman in front of him. He had indeed noticed her looking rather gaunt as of late. She wasn't participating in class and her friends had indeed stopped talking to her. The poor thing, and her she was, begging him to give her something so that she could sleep. He himself often had vivid nightmares and he knew how she felt. Without saying a word, he stepped around her and walked into his office. Her eyes followed him eerily and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand. She was indeed like ghost, and he hated to admit that she was freaking him out a little.

He opened a cabinet and returned within seconds, a Dreamless Sleep Drought clasped in his left hand. Silently, he handed the bottle to Hermione who took it in her free hand. She beamed at him. He noticed her eyes were damp again, although this time he assumed they were tears of gratitude. _Poor thing_.

"Just take that right before bed and you should sleep fine, Miss Granger."

Hermione nodded mutely. She looked down at the bottle in her hand, she couldn't see it, but it was still a habit. Severus looked at her for a moment, pondering. "Hermione, would you put the potion and your cane on the desk to your right?"

Hermione frowned at him, what was he planning.

"Hermione, trust me on this, please."

His words did little to soothe her. She watched nervously as he shook out his hands and took a deep breath. HShe took a half step back from him and watched silently. He closed her eyes and held out his hand for her to take. She looked at him warily. He opened and closed his hand several times, beckoning her to take his hand. "May I see your hand please, Miss Granger?"

Cautiously she rested her palm on top of his. She was nervous even though she hated to admit it. She wondered what he was up to. Severus lifted his other hand to rest it upon hers. Her left hand was now clasped between the two of his and she frowned.

Severus spoke then, eyes closed. "You're anxiety is palpable, I noticed it as soon as you stepped through the door. Here, let me show you something I learned before I came to Hogwarts."

His eyes tightened for a brief instant and then Hermione felt a warm sensation going through her hand. She frowned and looked at her hand. See could feel small wisps of something that seemed like smoke going from his hands into her skin. It was nice. See could feel it traveling up her arm and going through her body. The muscles in her shoulders and chest loosened themselves and she felt her headache ease itself away. She felt himself smiling slightly. This was a truly wonderful feeling. She closed her eyes to enjoy it more. She felt her toes tingle as the warm wisps reached them and she opened his eyes to look at Severus. He had dropped his hands and was staring at her, warmth on his face. She hadn't even realized he had removed his hands. She lowered her own hand quickly, feeling silly with it hanging there in the air.

She looked at Severus and he simply stared back at her, a small smile on his lips. When she had found her voice again, she coughed slightly and asked him quietly, "What was that?"

Severus shrugged. "I don't actually know. My Healer's touch?" He laughed at that. "I always supposed it one was of the funny injustices of the world. I can calm anyone's anxiety about pretty much everything, and yet, I can't do it on myself. And so I'm always plagued by anxiety over everything. I can't even help myself." He shrugged and looked at his feet pathetically. "I could do it ever since I was little. No one really noticed because it would always just happen when I'd place a hand on their shoulders and they'd calm down. I was told that I was just a comforting person. I'm not really, I just have the touch of Healer."

Hermione frowned at him. "Why didn't you go into a healing profession then?"

"And what makes you think I didn't? I wasn't the kind of person that people wanted to be touched by. So, I chose the next best thing."

Hermione only looked at him. She still felt elated, her body light and airy. She hadn't known that he could do that. She doubted that many did actually. She continued to watch him as he turned to the desk and gathered her cane and the potion for her. He proffered them and she took them gratefully.

He followed her to the door and opened it politely for her. She nodded towards him and smiled faintly. She stepped into the hall and turned back to him. The pure white light of his form gave her comfort and she had no idea why. "Thanks… Severus." She said simply, and walked off briskly before he could reprimand her for using his given name.

_Hermione Granger, what an anomaly you are. _He grinned at himself and stepped back into his rooms.

Hermione slept that night. And thankfully, she didn't have a single dream. Or nightmare.

It had been a month since the Marriage Law had come to pass and the pressure for the wizarding world to choose spouses was growing. Hermione had thankfully not receive any more offers of marriage. Well, that was good and bad she supposed. What was she going to do if she didn't receive another one?

She sighed into her morning glass of pumpkin juice. She had lost her sense of novelty to the other students and they no longer paid her any attention. She was thankful for that. She turned her head to the staff table and the white light that was Severs Snape came into view. His shape was now almost completely himself. Only his features were a little fuzzy. She could now sense his moods, and in fact, she had gotten pretty good at determining everyone's moods. No one but Neville really talked to her these days though. And that was only in Potions. You didn't have to be a genius to know that he was petrified in that class. All the time.

Hermione was feeling the loss of her two best friends rather acutely. She didn't give a shit about Ron, he had only himself to blame for that. But… Harry had just kind of abandoned her. Even now, she could hear him talking to her. All kinds of lovey-dovey mooshy stuff. It almost disgusted her. At least he was happy, she thought. She was still staring at the Staff Table she realized and looked back down. No one paid her any attention, she was blind after all. She was just staring. She knew though, that the man in black knew she was staring at him. She smiled widely to herself at that. She could just imagine Snape with his hair all greased with a big black guitar belting out, "Ring of Fire". She hated to admit to herself that it was a rather sexy thought. She had always thought that Johnny Cash was a rather sexy man. Her grin widened as she pictured herself as she imagined herself as June Carter next to Snape's Johnny Cash. _How silly. _

She was caught up in her musings and didn't notice the form of a blonde headed boy walking up behind her.

"Hello, Granger," The cold tone of Draco Malfoy hissed into her ear.

Hermione froze where she sat. The conversations going on around her had continued as usual. No one seemed to have noticed that Draco was even near them. She had placed herself at the end of the large table and no one was really near her. _Oh gods, what did I do? I've been forsaken by my own House!_

Draco picked up on her thoughts. "They don't care do they, Granger? They left you all alone. How sad. You're an outcast now, a pariah."

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione growled back.

Draco pretended to be taken aback. "Why, Granger! Can't I be concerned for the welfare of my fellow man? Perhaps I was just worried about you? You are looking awful thin these days." Draco said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Draco I am no mood for your fucking games. Get to the point and go away."

"All right, all right, let's attempt to be civil here." Draco said attempting to placate her. "I hadn't back from you about my proposal. I was wondering if you had come to a… decision." He rolled this last word over in his mouth, turning it into something sinister.

"I threw it away, you piece of shit. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my breakfast. I'm sure your Housemates are missing the their mascot; the weasel. Better not keep them waiting." Hermione tossed at him, attempting to grab a roll in the process.

Malfoy sneered at her, he glanced towards the Staff Table and noticed that the eyes of McGonagall, Dumbledore and Snape were all trained on him. "Later then." He tossed at her. He had more sense than people gave him credit for. He wasn't about to cause a scene with those three watching him.

The aforementioned staff members looked at one another. Wordlessly, Minerva pushed her chair back to stand. Albus looked at Hermione thoughtfully before placing a hand on her arm. She stopped and looked at him, surprised.

"No, Minerva," He paused again to look at Hermione and then to Severus. "I believe I will allow Severus to handle this one."

Minerva and Severus both looked at him shocked.

"Surely you jest, Albus. I understand that they've gotten on these past few weeks, but I'm still her Head of Hou-" She was stopped midsentence by another hand from Albus.

"Of course Minerva. However, I would still rather that Severus handle this one."

"Albus," Severus hissed, "What are you playing at?"

Dumbledore merely smiled faintly and twinkled his blue eyes at Severus.

Minerva looked from one to the other and again stood to go and speak to Hermione.

Albus looked at Severus and nodded to him faintly. He mouthed the word, "Go!" to him silently. Severus frowned, but stood from his seat.

He looked at Minerva, expression absent from his face and headed for the Gryffindor table.

Minerva looked critically at the Headmaster, a frown set deep into her features. "What is the meaning of this Albus? She's my ward. Severus has no business taking charge of her."

Albus smiled knowingly at Severus as he walked towards the girl. "You'll just have to trust me on this one Minerva."

She crossed her arms and huffed and she slumped back into her chair, pouting.

Albus at least hoped that he was to be trusted about this. He had his suspicions and he was using his careful hand for manipulation to work things out. He just wished he were more sure about this. As it was, he was just shooting around in the dark.

Hermione could feel a warmth coming towards her. She hid a smile when she noticed that it was her Potions Professor. He was, no doubt, coming to talk to her about what just transpired between her and Malfoy. She wondered who's side she would take. Were there even sides TO take. She didn't know. She wondered vaguely why McGonagall hadn't come over, but she let the thought slip from her mind as Snape spoke.

"Miss Granger," he all but purred into her ear, "If you are finished would you mind terribly coming with me to my office?"

"Not at all, sir." Grasping her cane tightly she stood and followed him from the Great Hall.

McGonagall watched them go, she was to focused on them to notice that the eyes of Draco, Ron, and a boy from Ravenclaw were also trained on the retreating couple. She turned a glare on Albus before tucking back into her breakfast. She certainly hoped this wouldn't end badly. It very easily could.

Snape and Hermione walked down the hall in silence. He glanced over at her occasionally, covertly trying to see how she was doing. He noticed that she was wearing a Muggle form of garb today. She seemed fond of the clothes, and he had to admit they suited her in a way her robes just couldn't. She was wearing dark jeans, and grey and white striped T-shirt. The shirt looked loose on her, and only part of it had to do with the fact that it was a baggy style. He frowned. She needed to eat more.

"Something wrong?" Hermione's small voice asked him.

"No. Why?" He responded curtly.

"No reason, you're just frowning. I wondered."

He stopped in the hall and she halted her pace as well. "See, how do you know that?"

She shrugged. "Despite the fact that that's pretty much the permanent set to your face, I can see it."

He was taken aback. He knew that she was able to make out his form for some reason or another. But she was not able to make out his features? How was that even possible? "Interesting. Come."

They took off at a more brisk pace until they reached his office door in the Dungeons. Hermione waited patiently for him to unward his door and allow her entrance. Finally, he stepped to the side and held the door for her. She stepped inside and he followed her, closing the door and setting the wards back in place.

"Have a seat, please." He said. He set his hand on the middle of her back and guided her to a seat next to his fireplace. He pointed his wand and the flames in it burst to life. Hermione stretched and settled herself comfortably in the large, plush chair.

"Are you thirsty?" He asked her politely.

"Tea would be nice." She affirmed.

He nodded his head and called a house elf to bring them tea. He took a seat across from Hermione as the little elf popped back into the room. A tray of tea and biscuits in her tiny hands. Severus took them from her gratefully and set them on the table beside his chair.

"That will be all." He said curtly to the little elf, who quickly popped herself back to the kitchens.

There was silence as Severus poured himself and Hermione each a cup of tea. He offered her a cup and she took it happily, enjoying the warmth on her hands. She inhaled the smell of the tea deeply and grinned as its vapors enveloped her.

Severus watched as she derived happiness from such a simple thing as a cup of tea. They each sipped their drinks for a few minutes before Severus decided to break the ice.

"I haven't seen your little elf around lately."

Hermione lowered her cup from her lips and nodded in the affirmative. "I spoke with the Headmaster and assured him I no longer needed her services. I liked her, but she was getting to be a nuisance, as I'm sure you can imagine."

Severus smiled slightly. Yes, he knew quite well how pesky those elves could be. They continued in a companionable silence for a while before Severus brought up the inevitable.

"I noticed that young Malfoy decided he needed to have a talk with you today."

Hermione shrugged. "He was just goading me. Telling me my friends had abandoned me. It wasn't anything really." Hermione sipped at her tea quickly, a little too quickly.

"And?" He asked, giving her a chance to continue.

"And nothing, that's it."

"Miss Granger, please don't insult my intelligence. What else did he say?"

Hermione sighed and allowed her shoulders to relax. "He asked me what I had done with the marriage proposal he had sent me."

Severus leaned back into his chair. _Ah, so that was it. Little weiner._ "If you don't mind me asking, what DID you do with it?"

Hermione smiled at that. "I threw it away in a rather grand fashion."

Severus smirked slightly. He had expected as much from her.

Hermione frowned slightly and asked hesitantly, "Sir, not to be rude. But, why is it that you came to talk to me rather than Professor McGonagall?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. The Headmaster insisted that I come and do it. Who knows what going on in that man's head sometimes."

Hermione made an ah! Face and sipped again at her tea. "Thank you by the way." She said after a time.

Severus was taken aback, and turned to look at her sightless eyes. "Whatever for?"

"Everything really. You've been such a big help recently. I don't know how I could manage without this cane," she held it up as she spoke, " And the sleeping potion and that… hand thing you did. You've just been exceptional recently. More so than I can say about my supposed friends."

Severus looked at her almost sadly. She may be putting up a brave front, but he knew that she was feeling the loss of her two best friends very heavily. She was a social creature by nature, as most Gryffindors were, and not having them was upsetting her. He was sure that this situation wasn't helping her with her nightmares. That reminded him…

"Miss Granger, I would like to ask you something, but if it's too personal, you may feel free to decline to answer." At Hermione's nod he proceeded. "What are these nightmares you're having comprised of? Is the same dream every time or are they different?"

Hermione pursed her lips and frowned, lost in thought. She thought it over carefully before beginning to explain. "It's mostly the same every time. I wake up and my head feels really funny, like I've been drugged or knocked out or something. And I'm looking around frantically and there are all these faces just… leering at me, ya know? Just this huge circle of people in these black robes with these shiny silver masks, like the Deatheaters have. And they're just staring at me with these masks. And a couple of people aren't wearing the masks and those are the ones that I wished were, 'cause their faces are the scariest of all. And then I get all cold and I notice that I'm… naked." She blushed here but kept going anyway. "And then there's this guy, and all I can is how relieved I am that he IS wearing a mask. And he's on top of me and covering my mouth. And those leering faces are there again. It's all just so confusing. There's a lot of pain, just pain all over my body. Like the blood in my veins has been replaced by razor wire. And I think Voldemort is there somewhere, I can hear his hissing laugh. It isn't so much that I see him, as I just sense that he's there." She paused, her face red and her ears burning. "And you're there too. You look terrified and disgusted and all these other emotions I can't pick out. it's all just so confusing. I just know that I wake up every time and I'm screaming. Eventually the girls in the dormitory just started casting a silencing charm on me so they wouldn't have to listen to me anymore." Hermione gave him a wry smile, "Human compassion and all that, right?"

Severus had listened closely to her account of what had happened. She remembered everything almost perfectly. She just missed a little bit before and a little bit after. She chalked it all up to nightmares. He knew better, but he wasn't sure if now was the time to tell her.

"How did you sleep last night?" He asked her seemingly casually.

Her shoulders visibly relaxed. "Fabulous, I slept an entire 9 hours. No dreams, no screaming."

He smiled at her sadly. "Good, good. Just be careful not to take those Droughts to often, else you'll become addicted to them."

She nodded at him. She knew obviously.

Silence enveloped them like a blanket and they sipped their teas. Severus was wrestling with whether or not to let her know what had really happened to her that night. She had a right to know, but was now the time?

He looked at the young witch in front of him and he heart felt like it would break in two. Without really thinking about it, his mouth blurted out before his brain could keep up;

"Hermione, you aren't blind."


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione stared at the dark man in front of her. She certainly felt like she was blind. And so did everyone else that she had been around. What was he getting at?

"Sir?" She asked uncertainly.

Snape sighed heavily and set his tea down on the table beside him. He thought over his response to her carefully. How much should he tell her? What exactly would he tell her?

"Miss Granger… Hermione. I know this is a shock to you. But, I've had my suspicions about your… condition since you woke with it from the Hospital Wing." He paused again and thought over his next statement carefully. "I believe… that you have a condition called Conversion Disorder."

Hermione looked at him with a frown. That sounded fishy. Conversion Disorder, hm? She hadn't ever heard of it.

"And… what is this Conversion Disorder, sir?" Hermione asked, curiosity sparked.

Severus coughed slightly to clear his throat. How to go about this? "It's a supposed Muggle condition. The wizarding world discredits everything that Muggles seem to believe in and I thinks its preposterous. Conversion Disorder is listed under a Muggle study called psychology." At that Hermione's face lightened up. She had heard of psychology, being Muggle born. But, like most of the witches and wizards of the time, she ignored it because it wasn't taught as true.

Severus steepled his fingers in front of his face and closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them he felt a pang to his heart as he took in the face of the young woman before him. She was so eager to understand what was going on. He could feel her interest like a taste on his tongue. He smiled sadly, the poor thing.

"When I say that you aren't blind, I mean it in the sense that you have no physical or neurological reason to be blind. I'm not saying that you can see and are just faking it. No. I believe very much that you can't see, I'm just telling you there's no reason for it."

Hermione sighed heavily. "Sir, with all due respect I've been told this already. There is no discernible reason for my blindness. That's why it's so frustrating."

Severus looked at her plainly, aware that she could see his face even if she couldn't see anything else. "It's a psychological problem, Hermione." He paused after that to gauge her reaction. Her frown had deepened and he decided to push forward with his explanation.

"It's a coping mechanism the brain goes through in order to maintain sanity. This is what your body determined was the best way to deal with stress, and anxiety. The events of… the other night finally caused your brain to snap, so to speak. And hence, your current blindness."

Hermione listened in silence. She was trying to absorb everything that he was saying, but at the same time, her brain was rejecting the idea. Was he telling her that she was crazy? That's what it sounded like anyway.

"Sir… are you telling me I'm crazy?" Hermione asked, eyes cast downwards.

Severus leaned forward quickly and grabbed Hermione's hand within his own. "Miss Granger… you are most definitely not crazy. A know-it-all, but not crazy. The brain is a miraculous thing, this is just what it deemed necessary to help itself. And you."

Hermione nodded slightly and allowed that to sink in. She certainly felt crazy now. But, at least this meant that she wasn't under the influence of some unknown spell. It was just something she'd have to work through on her own. She could handle that, she just had to believe she would be better, and she would. She wasn't crazy, just… what had he said, stressed? Anxious?

Hermione looked up at her Potions professor with an odd expression on her face before asking him in halted tones. "Sir… what were the events… well, the events of the other night… you know, the ones that made me… snap?"

Severus was hoping that she would forget he had said that. He should have known better though, the girl was sharp as a tack. Why did he have to get stuck with her? Why couldn't Minerva or Albus have done this? He was the greasy bat of the dungeons after all, incapable of compassion for another human being. And yet, here he was, his poor blind student sitting in front of him, her hands clasped within his own. _Her hands are so small. I'm afraid I'll break them off at the wrists if I'm not careful. She's just this delicate little thing, especially since after the attack. Her cheeks are so thin, she looks so sick. Very much like the walking dead with those eyes of hers_.

"This isn't going to be easy for you. Understand that now. None of it was your fault, and you have plenty of people here who care for you and want to take care of you. Do you understand?" He asked her, squeezing her hands gently.

Hermione nodded mutely. She had grown increasingly more nervous the more he had talked. Something horrible had happened and she hadn't been aware of it. What was he going to tell her? She was almost tempted to just tell him to keep it to himself. She didn't really want the extra stress of something huge like this weighing on her thoughts. Her curiosity got the better of her as it always did and she stared intently into the face of her teacher. The greasy bat of the dungeon, who really wasn't that greasy at all, had shown her a particularly kind side to himself. She just hoped that this wouldn't upset that.

"Yes, I understand." Hermione said, urging him on.

Snape nodded to her and took a deep breath. This was it. "Your dreams… the nightmares you've been having… they aren't just little fantasies that you've concocted for yourself. Everything that you've dreamed of… it happened. That night you arrived at the Hospital Wing, was the night that I brought you back from a Deatheater attack."

She inhaled sharply at his words and looked intently at his face. He wasn't lying to her, he wasn't the type to lie anyway. That's why those dreams had been so vivid, so horrible. They had happened, and she just didn't remember it.

"…Deatheater?" She asked him, shocked.

He nodded somberly at her. "Yes, Deatheaters. It seems that you had gone to Hogsmeade for a trip of sorts with Potter. One of the Dark Lord's… followers got you outside of some pub. I'm not sure how he got you, that's something only you can answer. Lupin, the Headmaster, and McGonagall all came barging into to my office a few hours later to inform me of your absence. Minutes later, I was summoned. I left immediately to the Apparition point. It brought everyone to some remote area in a forest, I can't tell you where exactly it was, it was so heavily wooded." He stopped to look at Hermione, to see how she was handling it. Her face was almost devoid of emotion, and so he plunged onwards.

"The Dark Lord gathered us all around and one of the Deatheaters drug you out of a building by your hair. You were unconscious at the time. You were then brought to the center of the circle and… offered… to whomever wanted to take you. I couldn't stop them, Hermione, I'm so sorry. I was frantic. I couldn't openly oppose what was happening, they would have killed us both. You kept looking at me, tears in your ears and I thought I would lose my mind. I was desperately trying to find something to cause a commotion so I could leave with you out of there. I finally noticed a tree that I could use to distract everyone with. I cast a silent spell towards it and it cracked and fell over, it killed someone, I'm not sure who. I continued to cast spells at the trees until everyone was running around in a panic. I then grabbed you and apparated both of us back to Hogwarts. I covered you in my cloak while I ran into the building to the Hospital Wing. They had spelled your clothes off… Poppy took you from me and immediately began cleaning you up. The Headmaster then came in as did McGonagall. A few hours later, they had Potter and Weasley come in, escorted by Lupin. From there you slept. And you remember the rest." He concluded quickly, his last few sentences coming out in a rush. He didn't want to be recollecting all of this for her, and the look on her face was making him nervous. There was no expression on her face and that concerned him.

They sat in silence after he had finished speaking. The tea in their glasses was cold by now and even with the fire beside him, Snape felt very cold. He wondered absently if he'd made a mistake in telling her all of that. She did have a right to know, but perhaps now wasn't the best time. None of that mattered now though, he had told her, and they would just have to deal with the aftereffects.

His hands were still wrapped around Hermione's and silently he sent a wave of his calming magic into her. He saw her shoulders relax, but there wasn't much difference to her other than that.

After what felt like an hour, Hermione finally spoke, her voice merely a whisper. "You're telling me… I was raped… by a Deatheater?"

Severus closed his eyes and nodded slowly.

Silence again.

--

"Where is she!?" Severus screamed at the Headmaster.

The man closed his eyes and tried to calm down the irate boy in front of him.

"Severus, please. You must remain calm. Getting upset isn't going to solve anything."

"Where IS she?" Severus asked, his voice lowered murderously.

"We don't know, but we are doing everything we can to find her, trust me. It's only been a few hours Severus, she may be perfectly fine. We just don't know." The Headmaster said in his most soothing tone.

"She isn't fine!" Severus spat at the older wizard. "She wouldn't just leave like that. We had agreed to meet by the lake at 12. She was never late, never! She's the most punctual person I've ever met. Something had happened to her!" Severus screamed.

"Why don't you tell me what she was doing before she was supposed to meet you?"

Severus took a haggard breath before saying, "She was with her parents. She had gone to visit her parents because she hasn't seen them in a really long time. She was coming back at eleven today so that she could meet me at 12 for lunch. Only she never showed up."

The Headmaster leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips, thinking. No one had reported seeing her on or around campus since yesterday. Severus was right, the girl was never late for anything, but what did that mean? Had something truly happened to her, or was she just being uncharacteristic for once. He didn't know. He eyed the boy before him carefully. He had never seen him this upset, not once. He was truly terrified for her. This didn't bode well.

--

Hermione gently removed her hands from Severus' and stood. Severus watched her, nervously.

Hermione walked herself towards the fire and stared at it for a long moment. She couldn't believe this. Raped. Raped and she didn't even know it. She must have blocked the memory, like she had made herself go blind. Coping mechanism or whatever it was. Raped. Tortured and raped by Deatheaters. Why didn't she stop them? Surely if she had only kept her wits about her, she could have stopped it. If not for Severus she probably would have been killed by them. Would that have been better?

She felt the bottoms of her jeans warm up from her close proximity to the flames next to her. She could sense Snape's unease behind her. He didn't know what she was doing, and he was nervous.

Raped.

Tortured and raped.

She felt suddenly angry that this had happened. Not only that it had happened, but because it had plagued her since it HAD happened. She didn't even know that it had occurred and so she hadn't been able to make peace with it and move on. Instead it had infected her brain with nightmares and anxieties. She felt her face contort into a snarl and slammed her right fist hard into the stone of the fireplace. A loud crack of bones creaking onto stone resounded through the room and Snape was immediately on his feet. She didn't even notice the pain. She was furious.

Severus was behind her and reaching for her hand, she whipped herself around and stared in fury at the man before her. He was taken aback by her expression and took a step back without thinking about it. She knew her lips were pulled back from her teeth and she growled low in her throat at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, voice low and meaningful.

Severus blanched. He was absolutely petrified of her in this moment. "I… we thought that… I'm sorry." He said finally.

Hermione took a step toward him, fists at her sides. "I had a right to know! How dare you keep this from me! I should hex a hole through you right now!"

Severus raised his eyebrows at her. He had no doubt that she could, literally, hex a hole through him. She was upset obviously, he had just expected her to cry rather than to be angry.

"Miss Granger… Hermione, please. We didn't want to upset you. You had just been through so much and we thought… I thought that something like this could ruin you. Hermione, I didn't want to lose you to something like this." Severus said in an attempt at consoling her.

Hermione halted in her fury. _He didn't want to lose me? That's why he didn't tell me… He knew that I'd be upset. Obviously. He should have told me. But, he had thought that he was_ doing _the right thing. No one else told me either. And he's been more there for me than anyone else has._

Hermione turned her back on him and again faced the fire. Her fists were clenched and she was grimacing at the pain in her right hand. It hurt like hell, but it felt good too. She allowed the heat from the fire to travel up her body and relax her. It stung her shins due to its proximity to her legs. That, also, felt good.

Severus was watching Hermione with trepidation. She seemed to have calmed somewhat, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to turn on him again. She could just be thinking of more things to yell at him. He should have told her before. He should have. He had acted like a coward and kept the information that was rightfully hers to himself. He had let her down again. He was such a fool.

They stood in this manner for a minute before Severus gathered his resolve and stepped towards her. She didn't flinch away from him and he felt emboldened. He lifted his arms and paused for a moment before placing them around Hermione's waist. She remained motionless, like a statue. He was standing behind her and rested his chin on the top of her head. He hugged her gently until he could feel her relax underneath him. Hermione leaned back against him gently, absorbing his warmth.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her hair.

Hermione nodded her acceptance of his apology.

Silence again.

--

"NOOO!!" Severus screamed.

"You're LYING! It isn't true!"

Slughorn had a firm hold of Severus's arms to keep him from lashing out at the Minister of Magic. The man had just flooed in to inform the three in the office, The Headmaster, Slughorn, and Severus, that the body of one, Annalese Sarpencia had been found minutes before.

"It isn't TRUE!!" Severus screamed, lashing out again at the head of the Ministry.

"She was found in a Muggle alleyway. Apparently she'd gone there to apparate back to the school, and a group of men attacked her. Muggle thieves is all they were. Mugged her. I am sorry about this." The Minister looked at Severus with sad eyes. "Make arragements."

He quickly flooed himself back to the Ministry after that, not wanting to stick around to deal with the particulars.

Severus was still screaming his anger at the sky, with Slughorn's arm wrapped tightly around his body. It was over then. It was all over. He felt his heart shatter into shards like broken glass; the pieces crumbling into the rest of his body only to be devoured by the growing darkness that slowly consumed him. She was gone. And with her, she took everything of him. Everything good, anyway. Everything that was left was given to the Deatheaters and to the Dark Lord.

Muggles. In the end it hadn't come down to whose wand was more powerful and who knew better spells. It came down to mortality. Even the wizards of the world weren't exempt from that. No amount of magic in the world could save you when it was time. Muggles had killed her.

Severus felt his face crumble as his anger finally ebbed away to sorrow. The deepest and most pitiful sorrow he had ever known in his life. He supposed that was why when Lucius approached him and asked him to join a secret society of like minded people that he had succumbed so easily. They offered the briefest glimmer of hope for him. Perhaps, if for them, he could bring something of her back.

Slughorn released him as he fell to the floor of the Headmasters' office, face in his hands. He was so good at controlling his emotions, but now he didn't care. He let his tears of anger and pain wash over his face and spill between the cracks in his fingers to fall silently to the floor. He would weep for her now, and never again. She was gone. He was gone too now.

--

Severus tightened his eyes at the memory. He had repressed it for so long. He remembered that after that they had prepared for the funeral. A small ceremony, not many had been in attendance. Her face seemed so peaceful. Dead people almost had that peaceful look he supposed. The locket he had given her had lain against her smooth skin. It had glistened faintly in the morning sun. With trembling fingers he had opened the tiny piece of jewelry. Inside, she smiled at him as he kissed her on the cheek. He had stared at it mutely. He closed the locket again and walked away; committing her face to memory.

He squeezed Hermione tighter, holding onto her for support. She patted his arm comfortingly. She was still frowning at the fire place, thinking deeply. _Not blind. I'm not blind. Tortured_ _and raped by a Deatheater. Not blind…_ She closed her eyes and willed herself to see. She opened them again, there was no change. _Perhaps he's wrong. He had said that it was just speculation, hadn't he? He's still hugging me… Maybe he needs the comfort as much as I do. I shouldn't have exploded on him like that. But… he should have told me_.

Severus opened his eyes and looked down at Hermione, pulling away from her slightly. Blood was dripping from her fingertip and making a pool below her on the floor. He had forgotten about her hand, and truthfully, so had she. It was swollen and bleeding. She had broken it, he was sure of that. In the process she had managed to scrap away most of the skin on her knuckles. He sighed and unwrapped his right arm from her waist. He placed his hand gingerly on her right wrist.

"Miss Granger?" He asked her quietly.

Silence greeted him, she had no wish to speak to him or anyone right now.

"Miss Granger, is it all right if I fix your hand?"

She grimaced at no one in particular, but gave no sign as to a yes or no.

Severus took her silence as an affirmative and wandlessy uttered a repairing spell. He watched as the bones knit themselves together and the skin grew anew over her knuckles. The swelling went down and within moments her hand had returned to normal.

He replaced his hand on her waist and pressed his lips to the top of her head. He hair smelled lovely; faintly of shampoo and much more heavily it smelled like her. That strange combination of smells that made up her own personal aroma.

After a few minutes Hermione opened her mouth to speak but closed it quickly. What was she going to ask him? She didn't even know, she wanted to say something though. Why was he holding her like this? Why hadn't he told her? What did she do now? What did THEY do now?

"How do I fix it?" She asked him, almost inaudibly.

Severus wasn't even sure if he'd heard her. He wasn't expecting her to speak and it took him off guard. His face was still lightly pressed against the top of her head and he uttered a quiet questioning noise; hm?

Hermione gestured towards her face and pulled a frown.

"Miss Granger, I do believe that you have heard the phrase, "There is no cure for ugly.""

He slowed his breathing to see what effect that would have on her. He was trying to joke and lighten the mood, but he wasn't sure if she were ready for that quite yet.

Hermione smiled faintly. "No, but there is a hex I know that would fairly effectively throw you against that wall."

Severus smiled against her hair. _Good, good. That could have ended very badly for me_.

"I will behave as best I can then." He replied flatly.

Hermione nodded once. She thought for a moment before saying, "I mean it though, how do I fix this? My eyes?"

Severus had been wondering when she would ask that. He wasn't really sure how to help her. Mostly it just took time and a lot of talk. He doubted that that was what she wanted to hear though.

"I don't know." He said simply.

Hemrione snorted at him unpleasantly and he attempted to amend the situation.

"We can fix it though. I have no doubt about that we can do this together."

_We can fix it… we can fix it together… He wants to help me. ._ "All right then. Together."

They lapsed into silence before Hermione silently excused herself for dinner. Severus watched her go reluctantly. True, they had been standing for quite some time and she must be tired and hungry. But, he didn't want her to leave. He hated to admit, even to himself, that he relished his time with her.

They hadn't spoken as she'd pulled away from him to go. He had let his arms drop and she had gathered her things. She had opened the door and glanced at him over her shoulder. Silence between them still. She had left without a word and he had remained standing there, staring at the last place she had stood in his office.

_Was this what Albus had had in mind when he had sent me to check on her? I doubt it. But, he knew something. Old codger is always up to something_. He turned to look into the fire and let out a low breath. He was tired. He would get no grading done today. He grabbed his favorite bottle of fire whisky and took the whole thing into his bedroom. He would sleep tonight; and well.

Two weeks later found a sleepy Hermione stepping into the shower in her dormitory. She was dreading class today for some reason. She had been meeting McGonagall every other day since her talk with Snape regarding her vision. McGonagall seemed unconvinced that it was this, Conversion Disorder. Snape had remained adamant about it however. They didn't seem to be making any headway and Hermione thought that perhaps McGonagall wasn't the one she should be talking to. She kept her mouth closed though, hoping against hope that the elder witch would have something with which to help her.

Her nightmares had lessened immensely since she had spoken to Snape. Everyday she worked through it a little bit more. The thought still repulsed her and made her want to scream, but she was no able to keep from doing so. It hadn't been her fault, as Snape had said.

She remembered returning to the dormitory after dinner the night she had talked to Snape. She had left everything on her on her bed, not caring who saw her nude at that point. She had turned on the shower as hot as it would go and stepped into the scalding spray with not so much as a wince. She could feel the water burning her skin and she relished the feeling. She would get herself clean. She didn't care if it hurt or not, she wouldn't allow her skin to be tainted any longer. She had sat and let the burning water run itself over her legs and hips while she stared unblinking at the wall in front of her. Her brain didn't even want to think right then. For the first time in her life, she wasn't thinking about anything. Nothing.

She had looked at her legs, now red and burned from the water, and tilted her head curiously. They didn't hurt. The pain she had felt had ebbed away and now she felt almost… elated. She knew distantly, in the back of her mind, that it was because her body had pumped itself with endorphins. She had looked into the reasons why some of her dorm mates had taken to cutting themselves. It was some strange phenomena that occurred in teen girls mostly, where cutting itself encouraged endorphins to spread themselves throughout the body; which in turn, caused a feel good sensation.

She had chalked it up to plain stupidity and a need for attention when she had read it. But looking at her legs now, and feeling the small amount of pleasure in her own body, she supposed she could see why they would do something like that.

It was all to make you feel good right? Isn't that what everything's about anymore? Personal satisfaction?

She sighed. Her thoughts had returned and were now drifting to dangerous subjects. This would only serve to depress her further. She didn't need to worry about this now. She would make herself better. Voldemort and Deatheaters be damned. The whole world be damned. She didn't need them. She would become strong on her own, and she wouldn't allow things like this to happen again. Ever.

She exited the shower back in the present and toweled herself dry. She was so thin, it almost disgusted her. She'd had such a nice figure such a short time ago. She'd starved herself to this point. She was weak all the time now, and she hadn't even realized she was doing it.

Maybe she wouldn't go to class today… She did need the sleep. She hadn't even realized how truly tired she was until she had finally started to get some real sleep. Real, blessed sleep. It wasn't like she would be missed.

She wondered absently just what had caused her drift from her friends. She hadn't even been aware that it was happening. The Ron thing was obvious, he had done the inexcusable on more than one occasion. But Harry… and the girls she lived with. She had never been best friend close with them, but she had counted them as friends.

It felt like she was coming home after a particularly bad holiday, only to discover in her absence that all of her friends had moved away. Why hadn't she cared about this before? She had just let this happen.

She exhaled slowly and lay nude on her bed. Her body felt so warm after her shower, and she was so tired. She spelled a curtain around her bed and closed her eyes. Just for a moment. Her N.E.W.T.s were coming up and she really did need to go to class and study. She would, she needed too. Just after she closed her eyes for a little bit.

Before she was even aware of it she had fallen asleep quite soundly.

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**Right-o! Who missed me?! Don't lie, I know you did. It's been an entire year! I can't even believe it. I feel horrible. But! I'm back now, and I'm here to finish what I started, dammit!**


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